Magnetic recyclable CdS/CoFe2O4 S-scheme heterojunction for efficient photo-Fenton degradation antibiotics CIP and high concentration dye RhB

The persulfate (PMS)-activated photo-Fenton system has emerged as a promising solution for addressing severe environmental contamination, owing to its efficient generation of strongly oxidizing free radicals. Herein, we present a magnetically recyclable CdS/CoFe 2 O 4 S-scheme heterostructure with broad-spectrum response, demonstrating exceptional performance in degrading ciprofloxacin (CIP) and high-concentration rhodamine B (RhB). A mild synthesized strategy was used to construct CdS/CoFe 2 O 4 composite, meanwhile, experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations were combined to exhibit the phase structure, interface heterojunction, surface chemical state, energy band structure, surface photovoltage, charge transfer mechanism, and magnetic property. In our work, the best degradation rates of CIP and RhB are 5.63 μmol·min −1 ·g -1 cat. and 13.91 μmol·min −1 ·g -1 cat. , respectively, with the contribution order of reactants to be h + >·SO 4 - >·O 2 – >·OH, which proves a synergy effect on the production of reactive oxygen free radicals and available photogenerated charge to boost the photo-Fenton applications. This work opens a new avenue for the construction of low-cost, high-efficiency, and magnetic recycling semiconductor heterojunction for enhanced photo-Fenton applications.