Catalytic activation of O2 by Al0-CNTs-Cu2O composite for Fenton-like degradation of sulfamerazine antibiotic at wide pH range

In this study, a novel Al-0-CNTs-Cu2O composite, capable of activating O-2 to generate H2O2 and further to reactive oxygen species (ROSs) at a wide pH range, was synthesized, characterized and applied for the degradation of sulfamerazine. In the activation of O-2 by Al-0-CNTs-Cu2O composite, H2O2 was generated from the reaction of O-2 with Al-0-CNTs, which could be catalytically decomposed into O-2(center dot-) and (OH)-O-center dot by Cu2O, the formed Cu(II) could be rapidly reduced to Cu2O by Al-CNTs in composite, which made Al-0-CNTs-Cu2O composite reusable and decreased the leaching of copper ions into solution. The removal efficiency of SMR and TOC was 73.91 % and 56.80 %, respectively at initial pH = 5.8, T = 20 degrees C, O-2 flow rate = 100 mL/min, Al-0-CNTs-Cu2O dosage = 2 g/L, SMR = 50 mg/L, and reaction time = 60 min. The removal efficiency of SMR kept almost unchanged and the concentration of copper ions in solution was below 0.5 mg/L. The Al-0-CNTs-Cu2O/O-2 process could be used as a novel catalyst for the degradation of refractory organic contaminants in water and wastewater by Fenton-like process at a wide pH range through the in situ generation of H2O2.