Epsilon-MnO₂ simply prepared by redox precipitation as an efficient catalyst for ciprofloxacin degradation by...

Four kinds of manganese oxides were successfully prepared by hydrothermal and redox precipitation methods, and the obtained oxides were used for CIP removal from water by activating PMS. The microstructure and surface properties of four oxides were systematically characterized. The results showed that ε-MnO₂ prepared by the redox precipitation method had large surface area, low crystallinity, high surface Mn(III)/Mn(Ⅳ) ratio and the highest activation efficiency for PMS, that is, when the concentration of PMS was 0.6 g/L, 0.2 g/L ε-MnO₂ could degrade 93% of CIP within 30 min. Multiple active oxygen species, such as sulfate radical, hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen, were found in CIP degradation, among which sulfate radical was the most important one. The degradation reaction mainly occurred on the surface of the catalyst, and the surface hydroxyl group played an important role in the degradation. The catalyst could be regenerated in situ through the redox reaction between Mn⁴⁺ and Mn³⁺. The ε-MnO₂ had the advantages of simple preparation, good stability and excellent performance, which provided the potential for developing new green antibiotic removal technology.