Highly efficient activation of peracetic acid via zero-valent iron-copper bimetallic nanoparticles (nZVIC) for the oxidation of sulfamethazine in aqueous solution under neutral condition

Herein, zero-valent iron-copper bimetallic nanoparticles were firstly applied to efficiently activate peracetic acid (PAA) for the removal of sulfamethazine (SMT) under neutral condition. Compared with the system of nano zero-valent iron (nZVI)-activated PAA, nZVIC/PAA system could significantly increase the removal efficiency of SMT by 70.8% at pH 7.0. It was demonstrated that the doped Cu could greatly accelerated Fe2+/Fe3+ cycle on the surface of the nZVIC and triggered the interaction between iron and copper. CH3C(O)OO• and 1O2 acted a dominant role on SMT removal in the nZVIC/PAA system. The transformation pathways of SMT were inferred based on DFT theory calculations and determined intermediates, and the luminescent bacteria test and toxicity prediction of degradation intermediates showed that the biotoxicity of SMT was reduced during degradation. Finally, based on the results of the practicability evaluation, the proposed nZVIC/PAA process is a promising approach for the rapid decontamination of antibiotic-polluted water.