Green degradation for ribavirin on sulfur-doped MnFe2O4 photoelectrocatalysis cathode electrode

Overdose abuse of antiviral drugs entering the environmental receiving water can directly lead to the problem of virus resistance. In this study, we confirmed that under the irradiation of sunlight simulated by Xe lamp, ribavirin can be efficiently degraded in a photo-bio-electro-Fenton process (PBEF) with the assistance of a developed sulphur-doped MnFe2O4 photocatalytic cathode electrode (S-MFO). The proposed efficient degradation path and mechanism of ribavirin in the system were reported by photoelectric joint catalysis. Results of Density Function Theory (DFT) calculations confirmed the higher adsorption energy of S-MFO for H2O2, which facilitated electron transfer to H2O2 molecules and decomposed into radical ions. Cyclic regeneration properties of Fe2+ and Mn2+ was improved due to the oxidation species induced from the photogenerated electrons and holes. Optimization experiments of the ribavirin degradation through Box-Behnken 3D model were performed, and the enhanced degradation percentage (≥72.2%) was obtained, which was better than the reported research results.