Singlet oxygen promoted high mineralization of pharmaceutically active contaminants via persulfate-assisted mAg3PO4@g-C3N4 photocatalysis

The wide occurrence of pharmaceutically active contaminants (PhACs) in aquatic environments has received more and more concern owing to the associated high risks to ecosystems. Even worse, conventional wastewater treatment techniques fail to provide effective decontamination for these emerging contaminants. Herein, we designed and constructed mAg3PO4@g-C3N4 heterojunction for a persulfate-assisted photocatalytic system (mAg3PO4@g-C3N4/PDS/Vis) for the rapid and effective degradation of PhACs. Superior mineralization of CBZ (87.15 %) was achieved within 30-minute treatment with mAg3PO4@g-C3N4/PDS/Vis, exhibiting 11 -fold enhancement compared to mAg3PO4/Vis system. Integrating experimental investigations with theoretical calculations, singlet oxygen (1O2) was identified as the key reactive species, while the 1O2-dominated ring-opening pathway contributed significantly to the high mineralization of CBZ. Moreover, mAg3PO4@g-C3N4/PDS/Vis showed robust degradation performance of multiple PhACs across various water matrices. Multiple PhACs could be simultaneously degraded with high mineralization efficiency in the wastewater effluent, demonstrating the promising application of mAg3PO4@g-C3N4/PDS/Vis for decontaminating emerging contaminants in wastewater treatment.