Efficient removal of neonicotinoid by singlet oxygen dominated MoSx/ceramic membrane-integrated Fenton-like process

Removal of neonicotinoids (NEOs) from contaminated water is of great importance for both ecological environment and human health. However, conventional Fenton process might be insufficient for NEOs removal due to short lifetime for generated HO• and limited Fe3+/Fe2+ redox cycle. Advancing Fenton process to produce singlet oxygen can be an effective route to improve its efficacy for NEOs removal. Herein, we developed a molybdenum sulfide modified ceramic membrane-integrated Fenton-like system to achieve efficient catalytic removal of NEOs. The reduced Mo0 and Mo4+ could promote the reduction process of Fe3+ to Fe2+, improving the activation efficiency of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the generation of superoxide radical (O2•−). Consequently, the coexisting Mo6+ reacted with O2•− to generate 1O2. The membrane enabled the pollutants to adequately contact oxidants due to the enhanced convective mass transfer. The functionalized membrane exhibited stable catalytic performance for clothianidin (CLO, a kind of NEOs, 10 mg/L) removal (degradation efficiency > 85%). The presence of 1O2 enabled the dechlorination and hydroxylation of CLO and thus reduced the toxicity of wastewater. Our work sheds light on the use of functionalized ceramic membrane integrated catalytic Fenton system for effective environmental remediation. [Display omitted] •A functionalized ceramic membrane-integrated Fenton-like system was developed.•The reduced Mo0 and Mo4+ carried by membranes promoted the reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+.•The membrane system had a degradation efficiency > 85% for neonicotinoids removal.•The coexisting Mo6+ in this system reacted with O2•− to generate 1O2.•The presence of 1O2 enabled the dechlorination and hydroxylation of CLO.