Highly efficient photocatalysis-Fenton degradation of antibiotics and phenol over sulfidated FeOCl under natural sunlight illumination

Sulfidated FeOCl is prepared as a heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalyst. And the surface sulfidation of FeOCl can remarkably accelerate the photoinduced charge separation and transfer, while also increase Fe 2+ /Fe 3+ atomic ratio, leading to the boosted photo-Fenton activity in the presence of H 2 O 2 . Under irradiation of natural sunlight (light intensity: ∼80 mW·cm −2 ), over 10 mg sulfidated FeOCl catalyst with using 20 μL 15 % H 2 O 2 , 91.2 % of ofloxacin solution (50 mg·L −1 ) and 97.5 % of sulfisoxazole solution (60 mg·L −1 ) can be degraded in 80 min, and 99.6 % of phenol solution (625 mg·L −1 ) is decomposed in 4 h. Under irradiation of a white Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lamp (light intensity: 5 mW·cm −2 ), 99.8 % of ofloxacin solution is decomposed after treatment for 4 h. Moreover, this photo-Fenton degradation system displays a stable activity in a wide range of pH (1−10), diverse water bodies, and various coexisting ions with concertation from 1 mM to 500 mM. Moreover, sulfidated FeOCl catalyst coated on a frosted glass sheet exhibits excellent stability for degrading ofloxacin even in seven continuous cycles. Particularly, the non-toxicity of the treated ofloxacin, sulfisoxazole, and phenol solution, have been proven by testing their toxic effects on cabbage seed, bacteria, and human embryonic kidney cell, respectively.