Degradation efficiency and catalyst stability are crucial issues in the control of organic compounds in wastewater by advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). However, it is difficult for catalysts used in AOPs to have both high catalytic activity and high stability. Combined with the excellent activity of cobalt/copper oxides and the good stability of carbon, highly dispersed cobalt-oxide and copper-oxide nanoparticles embedded in carbon-matrix composites (Co-Cu@C) were prepared for the catalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The catalysts exhibited a stable structure and excellent performance for complete phenol degradation (20 mg L⁻¹) within 5 min in the Cu-Co@C-5/PMS system, as well as low metal-ion-leaching rates and great reusability. Moreover, a quenching test and an EPR analysis revealed that ·OH, O₂·⁻, and ¹O₂ were generated in the Co-Cu@C/PMS system for phenol degradation. The possible mechanism for the radical and non-radical pathways in the activation of the PMS by the Co-Cu@C was proposed. The present study provides a new strategy with which to construct heterostructures for environmentally friendly and efficient PMS-activation catalysts.

This study successfully synthesized a BC/TiO ₂ /g-C ₃ N ₄ composite photocatalyst using the sol–gel method, conducted an in-depth analysis of the influence mechanism of BC on charge transfer performance in heterojunction materials, and revealed its key role in regulating the charge transport process. The introduction of biochar significantly increased the specific surface area of BC/TiO ₂ /g-C ₃ N ₄ compared to the TiO ₂ /g-C ₃ N ₄ catalyst, broadening the visible light absorption range. Under simulated sunlight irradiation with a wavelength greater than 420 nm, the three-component material MBC-500, calcined at 500 °C, exhibits the best catalytic performance, with an adsorption photocatalytic degradation rate of 98.13% for sulfadiazine (SDZ) within 60 min, which is 3.46, 3.40, and 2.36 times that of TiO ₂ , g-C ₃ N ₄ , and TiO ₂ /g-C ₃ N ₄ , respectively. Characterization analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed the energy band structure and electron transfer pathways of the composite photocatalyst, indicating the significant role of biochar in electron transfer and storage. Additionally, the calculated adsorption energies demonstrated the good adsorption performance of MBC-500 for O ₂ and sulfadiazine. This composite photocatalyst exhibited good stability and reusability even after five cycles of use. During the degradation process of SDZ, ·O ₂ ⁻ , h ⁺ , ·OH play a major role. Graphical Abstract

The widespread contamination of aquatic systems by ciprofloxacin (CIP)—a persistent fluoroquinolone antibiotic—poses severe ecological risks due to its antibacterial resistance induction. Conventional sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) suffer from inefficient catalyst synthesis, exemplified by low-yield ZIF-67 precursors (typically <25%). To address this, a nitrogen-doped carbon composite Co₃O₄/N@C was synthesized via ammonia-assisted ligand exchange followed by pyrolysis, using N-doped ZIF-67 as a self-sacrificial template. The ammonia incorporation quadrupled precursor yield compared to ammonia-free methods. This catalyst activated peroxydisulfate (PDS) to degrade 95% CIP within 90 min under the optimized conditions (0.5 g/L catalyst, 2 mmol/L PDS, pH 5), representing a 30% enhancement over non-ammonia analogs. Mechanistic studies identified singlet oxygen (¹O₂) as the dominant reactive species, facilitated by N-doped carbon-mediated electron transfer. This strategy overcomes the scalability barrier of MOF-derived catalysts for practical antibiotic wastewater remediation.

The efficient removal of antibiotic contaminants from aquatic systems remains a significant challenge due to their persistence and complex environmental matrices. In this study, a CuO-loaded biochar (CuO–BC) composite was developed as an efficient catalyst for peroxydisulfate (PDS) activation toward ciprofloxacin (CIP) degradation. The CuO–BC exhibited superior catalytic performance, achieving rapid CIP removal over a wide pH range with strong resistance to coexisting ions. Mechanistic investigations revealed that both radical (SO₄•⁻ and •OH) and non-radical pathways (1O2 and electron transfer) contributed to CIP degradation. Quenching experiments, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and probe analyses confirmed the coexistence of multiple reactive oxygen species (ROS), with interfacial electron transfer between Cu species and biochar playing a dominant role. The synergistic coupling of Cu2+/Cu+ redox cycling and the conductive biochar matrix facilitated efficient electron transport and selective ROS generation. Furthermore, the system was successfully applied in a simulated permeable reactive barrier (PRB), exhibiting stable degradation performance under continuous-flow conditions. This study provides new insights into interfacial PDS activation mechanisms and offers a promising strategy for designing efficient catalytic systems for antibiotic removal in complex water environments.

Using norfloxacin (NOR) as the target pollutant, the synergism and degradation mechanism of ZnFe₂O₄-N-BC (MNBC), a nitrogen (N) and zinc ferrite (ZnFe₂O₄) co-doped biochar bifunctional catalyst (BC), in visible light (VIS)−peroxydisulfate (PDS) coupled system, were elucidated, and the synergistic mechanism was further supported by optical absorption and photo-induced charge transfer analyses. The results indicate that the degradation rate constant of the ZnFe₂O₄-N-BC/Vis-PDS system is 22.7 and 17.4 times higher than that of the ZnFe₂O₄-N-BC/Vis and ZnFe₂O₄-N-BC/PDS systems, respectively. More importantly, an apparent enhancement factor of 26.3% was obtained relative to the internal control systems. In addition, the coupled system showed a wider pH adaptation range. Furthermore, the radical quenching experiment and EPR analysis further revealed that multiple reactive species (including SO₄⁻, O₂⁻·, ·OH, h⁺, and ¹O₂) were involved in the degradation of NOR, and their relative contributions followed the order: ¹O₂ > SO₄⁻ > O₂⁻·> ·OH > h⁺. Finally, HPLC-MS analysis was performed to identify the key degradation intermediates of NOR, and thus to propose its possible transformation pathways.

The efficient removal of antibiotic contaminants from aquatic systems remains a significant challenge due to their persistence and complex environmental matrices. In this study, a CuO-loaded biochar (CuO–BC) composite was developed as an efficient catalyst for peroxydisulfate (PDS) activation toward ciprofloxacin (CIP) degradation. The CuO–BC exhibited superior catalytic performance, achieving rapid CIP removal over a wide pH range with strong resistance to coexisting ions. Mechanistic investigations revealed that both radical (SO₄•⁻ and •OH) and non-radical pathways (¹O₂ and electron transfer) contributed to CIP degradation. Quenching experiments, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and probe analyses confirmed the coexistence of multiple reactive oxygen species (ROS), with interfacial electron transfer between Cu species and biochar appearing to play a significant role. The synergistic coupling of Cu²⁺/Cu⁺ redox cycling and the conductive biochar matrix facilitated efficient electron transport and selective ROS generation. Furthermore, the system was successfully applied in a simulated permeable reactive barrier (PRB), exhibiting stable degradation performance under continuous-flow conditions. This study provides new insights into interfacial PDS activation mechanisms and offers a promising strategy for designing efficient catalytic systems for antibiotic removal in complex water environments.