MXene-like carbon sheet/carbon nanotubes derived from metal-organic frameworks for efficient removal of tetracycline by non-radical dominated advanced oxidation processes

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) derived carbon with diversified structure and composition have received tremendous attention in persulfate advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Here, layer-by-layer MXene-like carbon sheet/carbon nanotubes (MCS/CNTs) were facilely prepared by pyrolysis of homologous MOF precursors. To present the influence of structure and composition on catalytic performance, different pyrolysis temperatures range from 700 to 1000 °C were applied to treat MOF precursor, and common antibiotic tetracycline hydrochloride (TTCH) was selected as the targeted pollutant to degrade. The results indicated that under 900 °C generated MCS/CNTs-9 with maximum specific surface area displayed much higher adsorption capacity (35.9%) and faster degradation rate (0.26 min−1) than that of the others. The degradation mechanism was confirmed by radical quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra. Degradation pathway was inferred by liquid chromatography-mass spectrograph (LC-MS), and a biotoxicity experiment of degradation products was carried out by culture of Escherichia coli. This work promotes the development of environmental nanomaterials and demonstrates the possibility of AOPs in water remediation.