Peroxymonosulfate Activation by Bi-Fe Oxide Co-Doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride for Degradation of Sulfamethoxazole: Performance and Mechanism.

Graphite carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has been employed as an emerging metal-free catalyst in heterogeneous catalysis. However, the catalyst has a poor activation property for peroxymonosulfate (PMS). In this study, Bi-Fe oxide co-doped g-C₃N₄ (Bi@Fe/CN) was synthesized for PMS activation to degrade sulfamethoxazole (SMX). In particular, Bi@Fe/CN-3 presented remarkable catalytic performance with 99.7% removal of SMX within 60 min in the PMS system. Additionally, Bi@Fe/CN-3 presented good stability and recyclability through the cycling experiments. Moreover, it was shown that free radicals (O₂^•−, ^•OH, and SO₄^•−) and non-free radicals (¹O₂) were the primary active species in the Bi@Fe/CN-3/PMS system. Bi, Fe, and surface lattice oxygen were confirmed to be the main contributors to the active species. This work elucidates the mechanism of activation of PMS by Bi@Fe/CN-3, which is beneficial to promote the application of bimetallic oxide-modified g-C₃N₄/PMS systems in wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]