The enhanced mechanism of peroxymonsulfate activation by FeCo bimetallic metal organic framework: Synergy and active species

In advanced oxidation processes, peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation is a very effective method to degrade pollutants. In this study, a high-efficient PMS activation catalyst Fe Co bimetallic organic framework nanocluster (FeCo-BMOF) was constructed to rapidly degrade pollutants. FeCo-BMOF achieved 100 % degradation efficiency for sulfamethazole (SMX) within 90 s with kinetic constant of 2.659 min −1 . This rate is significantly higher than monometallic MOFs (Fe-MOF and Co-MOF), being 379.9 and 5.6 times greater respectively. Quenching tests and electron paramagnetic resonance demonstrated that, during SMX degradation, non-radical oxidation (singlet oxygen 1 O 2 ) dominated the process. Theoretical calculations indicate that FeCo-BMOF preferred for adsorbing the terminal oxygen of PMS, which enhances the oxidation to PMS, leading to the formation of SO 5 − . Furthermore, the presence of dual active sites (Fe site and Co site) in FeCo-BMOF can working together, helping reduce the energy barrier required to break the O O bond in PMS. This study establishes a theoretical basis for further demonstrating the high efficiency of bimetallic organic frameworks for PMS activation and the development of PMS-based wastewater treatment technologies.