CoO anchored on boron nitride nanobelts for efficient removal of water contaminants by peroxymonosulfate activation

CoO anchored on boron nitride (Co-BN) was synthesized via a facile pyrolysis method. Co-BN exhibited excellent performance in catalytic peroxymonosulfate (PMS) oxidation of pollutants, as demonstrated by nearly complete degradation of bisphenol A substrate and 51 % of TOC removal within 10 min using only 0.2 mM PMS and 0.1 g·L−1 Co-BN. The characterization and theoretical calculation results confirmed that CoO was attached to the N–H moieties of BN, forming NCo bonds at the interface, and pollutants were chemisorbed at the junction of BN and CoO. These bonding modes contributed to enhancing the interfacial electron transfer and stability. Two major reaction processes were elucidated that PMS captured electrons from Co(II) to be reduced into highly active sulfate radical (SO4●−) while the electrons of pollutants were accelerated to be transferred to Co-BN through N-Co bond, resulting in the direct electron-loss oxidation and radicals-involved degradation of pollutants at the micro-interface of Co-BN.