Effective antibiotic removal from actual water matrices by Co in ZIF-8-derived porous carbon activated peroxymonocarbonate: Role of electron donor properties and selective reactive species

Antibiotics in environments pose an adverse and long-lasting threat to ecosystems and human health, which might be alleviated by innovation of materials and related treatment technologies. Cobalt encapsulated in ZIF-8-derived porous carbon (Co@PC) was synthesized with a diameter of 148 nm and a high specific area of 1650.7 m²/g. The commonly used or detected antibiotics could be effectively removed through pre-adsorption and subsequent oxidation in the Co@PC activated PMC system. The dominant and selective ¹O₂ and CO₃^·− and the confinement effect in the nanochannels endowed the Co@PC activated PMC system strong anti-interference capabilities towards co-existing substances and high NOR removal in different actual water matrices. The principal role of electron-donor-acceptor interactions in norfloxacin (NOR) adsorption on Co@PC and electron transfer mediated catalytic performances for PMC activation were innovatively elucidated by investigating the linear relationships between charge transfer resistance and adsorption or catalytic performances. According to density functional theory calculations, the CoO (220) facet is the primary catalytical active site, followed by Co-N_x and CoO (200) facet. Five plausible NOR degradation pathways were proposed according to 19 intermediate identifications and their pharmacophores were transformed and/or removed, which could decrease the opportunity to generate resistance genes and reduce microbial growth inhibition effectiveness. The attractive advantages of this degradation system provide a promising alternative solution for antibiotic elimination in different water bodies.