Cobalt Ferrite Supported on Carbon Nitride Matrix Prepared using Waste Battery Materials as a Peroxymonosulfate Activator for the Degradation of Levofloxacin Hydrochloride

Abstract Resource recycling and the reutilization of e-wastes are of increasing economic and environmental interest. For this study, cobalt ferrite (CoFeO2) was synthesized via a hydrothermal route using spent Li-ion batteries. Subsequently, a hybrid CoFeO2/carbon nitride (CN) (CoFeO2@CN) catalyst was created using graphitic carbon nitride as a support material. The morphology, structure, and magnetic properties of the CoFeO2@CN catalyst were systematically characterized. The CoFeO2@CN catalyst demonstrated high catalytic activity for the degradation of levofloxacin (LVF) through the activation of PMS. In contrast to CoFeO2, the CoFeO2@CN showed improved catalytic activity and reaction stability. The effects of catalyst and PMS dosage, pH value, and reaction temperature on the degradation of LVF were investigated in detail. Under optimized conditions, >90% of the LVF was degraded, the efficiency of which did not decrease significantly (>70%) following five repeated cycles. Therefore, we confirmed that, CoFeO2@CN exhibited both good PMS activation and repeatability; thus, it may be employed for the removal of refractory compounds.