Calcined CoAl-layered double hydroxide as a heterogeneous catalyst for the degradation of acetaminophen and rhodamine B: activity, stability, and mechanism

Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activated by nanomaterials presents one of the most promising strategies to generate reactive species for remediation of organic pollutant-contaminated water. In this study, CoAl-layered double hydroxide (CoAl-LDH) and calcined CoAl-LDH (CoAl-CLDH) were employed as catalysts for PMS activation towards aqueous organic pollutants degradation. Our experiments showed that the leaching of metal ions from catalyst can be significantly mediated by calcination treatment, which can avoid the secondary contamination. The stable CoAl-CLDH exhibited a high catalytic activity, which is comparable to that of the unstable CoAl-LDH. Importantly, reactive species quenching and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) results revealed that singlet oxygen (O-1(2)) is the dominant reactive species and plays a crucial role in the catalytic oxidation process in CoAl-CLDH/PMS system. A possible mechanism was proposed for the activation of PMS on the CoAl-CLDH. We demonstrate that CoAl-CLDH is a highly active and stable heterogeneous catalyst for efficient catalytic oxidation of organic pollutants (such as acetaminophen and rhodamine B (RhB)) via activation of PMS.