Synthesis of Cu Nanoparticles Incorporated Mesoporous C/SiO₂ for Efficient Tetracycline Degradation

In this study, a Cu NPs-incorporated carbon-containing mesoporous SiO₂ (Cu/C-SiO₂) was successfully synthesized through a grinding-assisted self-infiltration method followed by an in situ reduction process. The obtained Cu/C-SiO₂ was then employed as a Fenton-like catalyst to remove tetracycline (TC) from aqueous solutions. TEM, EDS, XRD, N₂ adsorption-desorption, FTIR, and XPS methods were used to characterize the crystal structure, morphology, porosity, chemical composition, and surface chemical properties of the catalyst. The effects of initial TC concentration, catalyst dosage, H₂O₂ dosage, solution pH, HA addition, and water media on the TC degradation over Cu/C-SiO₂ were investigated. Scavenging and electrochemical experiments were then carried out to analyze the TC degradation mechanism. The results show that the Cu/C-SiO₂ can remove 99.9% of the concentrated TC solution (C₀ = 500 mg·L^-1), and it can be used in a wide pH range (R.E. = 94-99%, pH = 3.0-11.0). Moreover, hydroxyl radicals (•OH) were detected to be the dominant reactive species in this catalytic system. This study provides a simple and promising method for the synthesis of heteroatom-containing mesoporous catalysts for the decomposition of antibiotics in wastewater.