Activation of peroxymonosulfate by palygorskite supported Co–Fe for water treatment

In the present work, palygorskite (PAL) supported Co–Fe oxides (CoFe@PAL) were prepared and used as a peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator for removal of rhodamine B (RhB) in water. The results showed that CoFe@PAL prepared at impregnation solution of 50 g L(−1) and calcination temperature of 500 °C showed the best catalytic performance. The removal efficiency of RhB (10 mg L(−1)) by PMS (0.1 mmol L(−1)) activated with CoFe@PAL (1 g L(−1)) was above 98% within 60 min. The effects of various environmental factors including initial pH, humic acid (HA) and inorganic anions on the removal effect were simultaneously investigated. The radical quenching experiments and EPR characterization revealed that ˙OH, SO(4)˙(−), O(2)˙(−) and (1)O(2) radicals existed in the CoFe@PAL/PMS system simultaneously. The intermediates during RhB degradation were analyzed by LC-MS and possible degradation pathways of RhB were proposed. Moreover, CoFe@PAL exhibited superior stability and reusability.