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Utility and mechanism of magnetic nano-MnFe2O4/MWNT activation for oxidative degradation of tetracycline by persulfate

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Abstract

A magnetic MnFe2O4/MWNT nanocomposite activated with sodium persulfate (PDS) was investigated for the removal of the widely used antibiotic tetracycline (TC). The best-performing 80 wt.% MnFe2O4/MWNT nanocomposite was screened for catalytic degradation of TC by comparing the catalytic and adsorption processes. The nanocomposite was evaluated using a series of physical characterizations. The effects of catalyst dosage, PDS dosage, temperature, initial pH, and initial concentration of TC on TC removal were investigated. After the reaction for 90 min, the addition of 4 mM PDS to the 80 wt.% MnFe2O4/CNT catalyst at 0.5 g/L degraded 78.85% of TC and 51.97% of TOC at an initial TC concentration of 40 mg/L. The reusability of MnFe2O4/MWNT nanocomposite was evaluated and the structural stability of the material was verified. It was demonstrated that multiple active species (SO4−, ·OH, ·O2−, 1O2) were produced in the MnFe2O4/MWNT/PDS system. The catalytic mechanism was analyzed based on the XPS results. Total organic carbon (TOC) measurement indicated partial TC had completely mineralized. The presumable degradation pathway of TC was proposed according to intermediate products by the LC–MS method.

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Data availability

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the NSFC (51768019).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Engineering, East China Jiao Tong University, Nanchang, 330013, Jiangxi, China

    Huimin Zhang, Xing Tong, Huoqing Xiao, Hailong Wang & Xiuguo Lu

  2. Jiangxi Academy of Eco-Environmental Sciences and Planning, Nanchang, 330039, People’s Republic of China

    Huoqing Xiao & Meng Zhang

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  1. Huimin Zhang
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  2. Xing Tong
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  3. Huoqing Xiao
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  4. Hailong Wang
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  5. Xiuguo Lu
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  6. Meng Zhang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Huimin Zhang, Xing Tong, and Huoqing Xiao. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Huoqing Xiao, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Huimin Zhang.

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Zhang, H., Tong, X., Xiao, H. et al. Utility and mechanism of magnetic nano-MnFe2O4/MWNT activation for oxidative degradation of tetracycline by persulfate. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 48999–49013 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25727-w

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