Efficient degradation of drug ibuprofen through catalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate by Fe 3 C embedded on carbon

Ibuprofen (IBU), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, is becoming an important member of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) as emerging pollutants. To degrade IBU, magnetic Fe C nanoparticles embedded on N-doped carbon (Fe C/NC) were prepared as a catalyst by a sol-gel combustion method. As characterized, the Fe C/NC nanoparticles were composed of a NC nano-sheet and capsulated Fe C particles on the sheet. The Fe C/NC nanoparticles were confirmed an efficient catalyst for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to generate sulfate radicals (SO ), single oxygen ( O ) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH) toward the degradation of IBU. The added IBU (10 mg/L) was almost completely removed in 30 min by using 0.1 g/L Fe C/NC and 2 g/L PMS. The catalyst was confirmed to have good ability and excellent reusability through leaching measurements and cycle experiments. A catalytic mechanism was proposed for the catalytic activation of PMS on Fe C/NC, which involves both Fe C reactive sites and N-doped carbon matrix as reactive sites in Fe C/NC. Moreover, the degradation pathway of IBU in the Fe C/NC-PMS system was proposed according to the detections of degradation intermediates.