Efficient antibiotics removal via the synergistic effect of manganese ferrite and MoS₂

The use of antibiotics for beings is a most significant milestone in present era. However, owing to the excessive use, a large amount of antibiotics accumulated in water, leading to serious pollution. An efficient method is urgently needed to treat the antibiotics pollution. Photo-Fenton process is a green method with utilizing solar energy. Catalyst is important. This work combines manganese ferrite MnFe₂O₄ and MoS₂ to synthesize MnFe₂O₄-MoS₂ (FMG) composite as the catalyst of photo-Fenton process, which shows good performance on tetracycline antibiotics degradation. Light intensity exhibits positive correlation with the catalytic activity. h⁺, •OH and ¹O₂ participate in tetracycline degradation. h⁺ plays a key role in tetracycline removal. •OH has a little impact on tetracycline removal, but it has a great impact on the mineralization ability of this photo-Fenton process. Additionally, cycling experiments confirm the stability of FMG. And owing to its magnetism, FMG can be easily recycled by external magnetic field. This photo-Fenton process over FMG with utilizing the synergism of MnFe₂O₄ and MoS₂ is a promising method for antibiotics pollution treatment.