Rapid and efficient removal of naproxen from water by CuFe2O4 with peroxymonosulfate

Naproxen, a widely used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, has been detected in many environmental matrixes and is regarded as an emerging pollutant. Sulfate radical (SO 4 · - ) -based advanced oxidation processes have attracted wide attention due to their high efficiency and applicability in the removal of emerging contaminants. In this study, CuFe 2 O 4 was used as an efficient catalyst to activate peroxymonosulfate to oxidize naproxen. The results suggested that 92.3% of naproxen was degraded and 50.3% total organic carbon was removed in 60 min in the presence of 0.3 g · L −1 CuFe 2 O 4 and 2 mM peroxymonosulfate. This degradation system showed strong adaptability in a wide pH range from 4.0 to 10.0. Free radical scavenger experiments and electron spin resonance analysis indicated that 1 O 2 ,  · OH, and SO 4 · - are the main active species. Finally, the potential degradation pathways of naproxen were proposed by detecting and analyzing the degradation products with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry. The results of this study suggest that the CuFe 2 O 4 -activated peroxymonosulfate system is a promising technology for the removal of naproxen from natural water.