Degradation of ciprofloxacin with hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by ironmolybdate-based zeolitic octahedral metal oxide

Ciprofloxacin, a widely used fluoroquinolone antibiotic, is found in drinking water as a pseudo-persistent pollutant. Zeolitic octahedral metal oxide based on ε -Keggin ironmolybdate (MoFeO) is synthesized as an efficient catalyst for ciprofloxacin degradation with H 2 O 2 . Higher than 80% of ciprofloxacin is degraded in the pH range from 5 to 8, and the highest degradation percent is achieved at pH 8. The catalyst shows high stability as a heterogeneous catalyst and can be reused up for 3 times in continues ciprofloxacin degradation. Presence of humic acid has no effect on the ciprofloxacin degradation catalyzed by MoFeO, and ciprofloxacin is efficiently degraded in the water from city tap, river, pond, lake, and sea with various dissolved organic matter concentrations and conductivities. • Mo and Fe based zeolitic octahedral metal oxide (MoFeO) is used for degradation. • CIP is degraded by MoFeO/H 2 O 2 under weak basic conditions with humic acids. • In natural water bodies, MoFeO shows high catalytic activity.