Enhanced PMS activation property of Cu decorated MnO catalyst for antibiotic degradation

Designing highly efficient catalysts for PMS activation is of great significance for the degradation of organic pollutants. Here, a Cu decorated MnO catalyst (Cu-MnO) has been synthesized for forceful PMS activation to drive antibiotic degradation. As expected, the Cu-MnO particles exhibit superior catalytic activity for tetracycline (TC) degradation with the high degradation rate of 91% after 60 min due to the synergetic redox coupling of Mn and Cu species. In addition, the experimental parameters (catalyst concentration, PMS dosage, initial pH value, initial TC concentration, and reaction temperature) were also explored to optimize the reaction conditions and improve the efficiency of TC degradation. At the same time, the most likely reaction path of TC degradation was speculated based on quenching experiment. This work provides a new idea for efficient activation of PMS.