High yielded Co–C derived from polyester-Cobalt carbothermal reduction for efficient activation of peroxymonosulfate to degrade levofloxacin

A kind of high yield and recyclable Cobalt–Carbon composite (Zn 1 Co 5 /P n C) was prepared by carbothermal reduction process, in which the cobalt acetate and zinc acetate were considered as Zn and Co precursors, and the polyester waste was evolved as the carbon precursor. The morphology, structure and composition of the composite were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results showed that evaporation of zinc contributed to the formation of porous carbon structure, and the Co nanoparticles were wrapped and protected by the porous carbon matrix. The Zn 1 Co 5 /P n C activated peroxymonosulfate (PMS) system (Zn 1 Co 5 /P n C/PMS) was constructed to degrade the levofloxacin (LEV). The activity and mechanism of LEV degradation was understood. The LEV degradation efficiency was high to 96.60% within 90 min in the presence of Zn 1 Co 5 /P 4 C. Moreover, the Zn 1 Co 5 /P 4 C still maintained favorable PMS activation performance after five-cycle runs. The results show that the Zn 1 Co 5 /P 4 C played positive role in activating the PMS, it may be due to the facts that the polyester derived carbon could supported the Co while the evaporated Zn could increase the surface area of Zn 1 Co 5 /P 4 C, leading to the increased activity. The possible degradation pathways were proposed by identifying the intermediate products through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. This study put forward a promising method to use polyester waste to synthesize high yield cobalt-carbon composite for degrading the antibiotic in wastewater.