Research on ultrafast catalytic degradation of heterocyclic compounds by the novel high entropy catalyst

Traditional refractory wastewater treatment methods have problems of low efficiency, high cost and many by-products, so it is of great significance to develop new high-efficiency refractory wastewater treatment technology. Heterogeneous catalysts were used in the catalytic ultrafast oxidation (CUFO) process to treat textile dyeing wastewater with refractory heterocyclic compounds. Composite catalysts with varying entropies were synthesized by the ultrasonic dispersion-annealing method. The high entropy catalysts exhibited superior catalytic activity and stability compared to other catalysts. Furthermore, the impact of reaction temperature (T, 350–390 °C), residence time (t, 3–17 min), oxidation coefficient (OC, 2.1–2.9), and entropy of catalyst on the COD removal were assessed. An increase in entropy of catalyst resulted in a significant enhancement of COD removal rate. At T = 390 °C and OC = 2.90, the high entropy oxides catalyst achieved the COD removal rate of 93.95 % after the 7 min reaction. Additionally, a catalytic reaction mechanism involving the CeMnCuOx solid solution heterostructure with domino catalytic ability was proposed. Overall, the results suggest that catalytic ultrafast oxidation technology is a promising option for efficiently treating refractory organic pollutants.