Targeted degradation of TBBPA using novel molecularly imprinted polymer encapsulated C-Fe-Nx nanocomposite driven from MOFs

Abstract To improve the efficacy of organic pollutant removal using sulfate radicals, we designed MIP@C-Fe-Nx, a molecularly imprinted material capable of targeting the degradation of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), which can be used as both adsorbent and catalyst to recognize and degrade Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) accurately, and the final removal rate of TBBPA can reach 104.6 mg·g−1. Based on the synergistic effects of MIP@C-Fe-Nx on the excellent organic pollutant recognition and catalytic performance, low concentrations of TBBPA can be pre-targeted, concentrated, and fixed on the surface of MIP, and degraded simultaneously in-situ by·OH and SO4•- which are produced by activating PS with C-Fe-Nx. Recognition experiments demonstrated that MIPs had perfect performance in recognizing and adsorbing TBBPA and debromination intermediates. The DFT calculations and HPLC-MS analysis indicated that MIP@C-Fe-Nx had a targeted recognition and accumulation for TBBPA and debromination intermediates, for example, dibromobisphenol A, monobromobisphenol A, and bisphenol A, thus avoid the formation of toxic intermediates causing secondary contamination.