Efficient Degradation of Ciprofloxacin in Water over Copper-Loaded Biochar Using an Enhanced Non-Radical Pathway

The development of an efficient catalyst with excellent performance using agricultural biomass waste as raw materials is highly desirable for practical water pollution control. Herein, nano-sized, metal-decorated biochar was successfully synthesized with in situ chemical deposition at room temperature. The optimized BC-Cu (1:4) composite exhibited excellent peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation performance due to the enhanced non-radical pathway. The as-prepared BC-Cu (1:4) composite displays a superior 99.99% removal rate for ciprofloxacin degradation (initial concentration 20 mg·L^-1) within 40 min. In addition, BC-Cu (1:4) has superior acid-base adaptability (3.98~11.95) and anti-anion interference ability. The trapping experiments and identification of reactive oxidative radicals confirmed the crucial role of enhanced singlet oxygen for ciprofloxacin degradation via a BC-Cu (1:4)/PMS system. This work provides a new idea for developing highly active, low-cost, non-radical catalysts for efficient antibiotic removal.