(2021) Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering_Covalent organic polymer derived carbon nanocapsule-supported cobalt as a catalyst for activating monopersulfate to degrade salicylic acid

Tuan D.D., Chang F.-C., Chen P.-Y., Kwon E., You S., Tong S., Lin K.-Y.A.

(Elsevier Ltd) Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering ISSN: 22133437 Vol.9 Issue.4 Article No.105377 DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2021.105377

As salicylic acid (SAC) is an extensively used pharmaceutical, discharge of SAC into the environment has caused serious threats to ecology in view of its toxicity. Therefore, SO4^•--involved chemical oxidation methods have been employed for eliminating SAC. Since monopersulfate (MPS) has become a popular reagent for producing SO4^•-, an alternative heterogeneous Co-based catalyst is proposed by using a Co-coordinated covalent organic polymers (Co-COP) as a precursor. Via carbonization, Co-COP is transferred by conversion of Co ions to Co/CoO nanoparticle and conversion of COP to N-doped carbon nanocapsules (CNC), respectively, to form a unique composite of Co NPs embedded into carbon nanocapsule (CoCNC). CoCNC exhibits a higher catalytic activity than Co3O4nanoparticle for activating MPS to degrade SAC because of synergistic effects between Co NPs and the N-doped CNC which not only acts as the support but also provides active sites. Hence, CoCNC+MPS could afford a much lower Eavalue (25.4 kJ/mol) of SAC degradation than the reported values. Moreover, CoCNC is still efficient for removing SAC even in the presence of high-concentration NaCl and SDS. CoCNC can be also recyclable over many cycles and maintain its catalytic activities, confirming that CoCNC is an advantageous catalyst for MPS activation. © 2021 EDP Sciences. All rights reserved.

This work is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) ( 110-2636-E-005-003- ), Taiwan, and financially supported by the “ Innovation and Development Center of Sustainable Agriculture ” from The Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Taiwan.