3D nanoflowers of MoO3-Co(OH)2/NF activate peroxymonosulfate for RhB degradation in singlet oxygen

In this research, Mo-oxides complexes combined with Co(OH) 2 grown on three-dimensional (3D) nickel foam (Mo-Co(OH) 2 /NF) were developed as a peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator enabling a pathway transition from radical to non-radical for efficient degradation of organic pollutants. The incorporation of high-valence Mo species promoted the formation of sheet structure and facilitated the Co(II)/Co(III) ratio, while Co served as the primary active site for PMS activation. Consequently, complete removal of 40 mg/L Rhodamine B (RhB) in optimized conditions (catalyst = 1.5 cm 2 , 0.4 g/L PMS dosage, reaction temperature = 25 °C) was achieved within 2 min. In addition, excellent adaptability was exhibited over a wide pH (3.0–9.0) and versatility (99 %, 80.94 % and 91.54 % for MB, LFX, and TC, respectively) in Mo-Co(OH) 2 /NF + PMS system. Impressively, radical scavenging experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) analyses revealed that the degradation process was mainly dominated by the conversion of O 2 •– to non-radical 1 O 2 . Hence, this work demonstrates the potential of high-valent metal-oxides complexes integrated with Co(OH) 2 as effective PMS activators for non-radical degradation of dye and other refractory antibiotics, significantly broadening their applications in environmental remediation.