Mofs-Derived Magnetic Hollow FecoC as Peroxymonosulfate Activator for Degradation of Organic Pollutants : Experimental and Theoretical Study

Bimetallic and magnetic hollow spheres (FeCo@C) are developed and serves as highly efficient catalysts for removal of organic contaminants. In comparison to Fe@C and Co@C, FeCo@C exhibited a superior activity for removal of Orange G (OG) with extremely low concentration of FeCo@C (50.0 mg/L) via heterogeneous and homogeneous activation of PMS. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and DFT calculations demonstrated that the synergistic effect of Fe and Co species and PMS activation occurred on the (110) crystal plane of FeCo alloy were responsible for accelerating PMS activation, and the carbon in FeCo@C can act as a carrier to improve the stability, an electron mediator and activator to enhance the catalytic performance. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and quenching experiments indicated that SO 4 •− , · OH and 1 O 2 were responsible for OG removal. The effects of PMS dosage, catalyst concentration, solution pH, and humic acids on OG removal were also investigated. The reduced toxicity of transformation products was verified by quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR). Furthermore, FeCo@C can be easily separated from the solution with a magnet and showed good reusability and stability over five cycles at pH 7.0 and 9.0. This work demonstrates a feasible strategy towards the design of high-performance MOF-derived carbon catalysts for the degradation of organic contaminants based on PMS oxidation processes