Periodate activation with manganese oxides for sulfanilamide degradation

This study presents a novel periodate oxidation system mediated by manganese oxides for the rapid removal of aqueous contaminants. The catalytic activation of periodate on manganese oxides was demonstrated as an efficient advanced oxidation system for degradation of sulfanilamide. The reactivity of manganese oxides with different Mn valence followed the order of MnO₂>Mn₃O₄>Mn₂O₃, all of which showed extraordinary reusability during repeated activation of periodate. Sulfanilamide was rapidly degraded along with stoichiometric transformation of IO₄^- to IO₃^-, and both processes exhibited good linear correlations with the dosage of manganese oxides. While the degradation of sulfanilamide in the MnO₂/IO₄^- system was accelerated at lower solution pH, it was only slightly affected by ionic strength, water anions and humic acid. In contrast to the homogeneous system of Mn²⁺/IO₄^-, sulfanilamide degradation was not influenced in oxic and anoxic environment. It was evidenced by quenching studies and EPR tests that both singlet oxygen (¹O₂) and iodate radicals (IO₃^•) were generated when the metastable Mn(IV)-O-IO₃ interacted with sulfanilamide. The XPS spectra of Mn 2p and O 1s before and after reactions indicated that the catalytic activation of periodate on MnO₂ was not in company with the redox cycling of Mn(IV) species.