High active amorphous Co(OH)_(2) nanocages as peroxymonosulfate activator for boosting acetaminophen degradation and DFT calculation

Acetaminophen(ACE)is commonly used in analgesic and antipyretic drug,which is hardly removed by traditional wastewater treatment processes.Herein,amorphous Co(OH)_(2)nanocages were explored as peroxymonosulfate(PMS)activator for efficient degradation of ACE.In the presence of amorphous Co(OH)_(2)nanocages,100%of ACE removal was reached within 2 min with a reaction rate constant k_(1)=3.68 min 1 at optimum pH 5,which was much better than that of crystallineβ-Co(OH)_(2)and Co_(3)O_(4).Amorphous materials(disorder atom arrangement)with hollow structures possess large specific surface area,more reactive sites,and abundant vacancies structures,which could efficiently facilitate the catalytic redox reactions.The radicals quenching experiment demonstrated that SO_(4)^(·-)radicals dominated the ACE degradation rather than^(·)OH radicals.The mechanism of ACE degradation was elucidated by the an alysis of degradation in termediates and theoretical calculation,indicating that the electrophilic SO_(4)^(·-)and^(·)OH tend to attack the atoms of ACE with high Fukui index(f).Our finding highlights the remarkable advantages of amorphous materials as heterogeneous catalysts in sulfate radicals-based AOPs and sheds new lights on water treatment for the degradation of emerging organic contaminants.