Surface-active MnFeO@C cubes as enhanced peroxymonosulfate activators for efficient degradation of bisphenol A

Developing highly-effective catalysts through a facile method for activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to degrade recalcitrant pollutants is highly desirable. In this work, porous carbon-coated iron-manganese oxides (MnFeO@C) was facilely synthesized. The porous carbon film on the surface of MnFeO@C was beneficial to adsorption of bisphenol A (BPA) and flow of electrons. The catalytic degradation performance toward BPA was significantly improved with the increase of surface roughness and porosity of MnFeO@C after calcination. In particular, MnFeO@C derived at 300 degrees C (MnFeO@C-300) exhibited the highest degradation rate benefiting from the existence of Mn2O3. More than 95% BPA could be removed in 30 min by MnFeO@C-300/PMS system and remained efficient in a wide pH range from 3.0 to 10.0, especially in alkaline conditions. The intermediates of BPA degradation were identified and the degradation pathways involved hydroxyl oxidation and benzene ring opening were proposed based on GC-MS results. The removal rate of BPA can maintain more than 80% following five cycles. Thus, the as-prepared MnFeO@C-300 composites are available to serve as efficient and eco-friendly catalysts for advanced catalytic oxidation of recalcitrant pollutants.