A synergistic adsorption-catalysis with co-doped Fe/Mn porous PET waste for simultaneous and ambient remediation of hazardous pharmaceutical drugs and dye in multi-component systems by enhancing singlet oxygen

Valorizing single-use plastic waste as an effective activator in environmental protection has gained great interest from policymakers, legislators, and scientific research communities. Herein, low-cost and highly porous alkali Fe/Mn-doped carbon nanomaterials derived from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste (MF/ c PET- x ) were fabricated via facile pyrolysis and alkali-metal impregnation methods. Detailed characterizations of MF- c PET- x demonstrated that the ratio of alkaline impregnation and pyrolysis temperature affects the porous characteristics, content, and size of active sites, specific surface area, and yield of carbon residue/nanocomposite. The main aim of this study was to evaluate and optimize the MF/ c PET- x applied for the detoxification of various kinds of pharmaceutical drugs ( tetracycline , naproxen , paracetamol , and levofloxacin ) and various dyestuff in their single, binary, ternary, and quaternary solutions. The magnetic porous MF/ c PET-1 was found to show a most effective PMS activation for single/multiple toxic pollutants removal attaining levels >91.0 % in a wide range of temperatures (5–35 °C) and pH (3.0–9.0), without significant detectable metal leaching (>0.16 mg L −1 ). The outstanding catalytic performance in complex water environments was mainly attributed to the deposition of Mn/Fe nanoparticles with small grain size on a polymeric scaffold, bimetal synergistic effect, high specific surface area, high stability, and excellent anti-interference capability against coexisting substances. Physicochemical properties of the recycled composite, masking, and EPR analyses confirmed that the dominant reactive species in the following order: 1 O 2  >  OH > SO 4 − > O 2 − . This work offers a new and straightforward approach for preparing porous alloy composite from plastic waste for pollutant degradation in various water matrices.