One-pot synthesis of a cellulose-supported CoFe2O4 catalyst for the efficient degradation of sulfamethoxazole

Cellulose-supported cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4/RC) was synthesized via a facile one-pot hydrothermal method and demonstrated to be an efficient catalyst to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX). The characterizations of CoFe2O4/RC catalysts revealed that an appropriate particle size of the cellulose support could promote the dispersion of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles and consequently promote the catalytic activity of the resulting CoFe2O4/RC catalysts. The degradation of SMX reached 97.6 % within 20 min at 30 °C with the CoFe2O4/RC/PMS system. The mechanism of SMX degradation over CoFe2O4/RC-activated PMS was studied via EPR, XPS, and quenching tests. The results suggested that 1O2 was the dominant reactive oxygen species and was accompanied by SO4-, OH, and O2- radicals for SMX degradation. The CoFe2O4/RC catalyst exhibited high stability and recyclability and maintained high catalytic activity after five experimental cycles.