Activating peroxydisulfate with Co3O4/NiCo2O4 double-shelled nanocages to selectively degrade bisphenol A – A nonradical oxidation process

Abstract In this study, zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) derived Co3O4/NiCo2O4 double-shelled nanocages (DSNCs) were fabricated and utilized as catalysts to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS) for bisphenol A (BPA) degradation. The results showed that Co3O4/NiCo2O4 DSNCs exhibited superior BPA degradation performance over Co3O4 NCs and NiCo2O4 NCs. PDS combined with the interfaces of both the Co3O4 inner shell and NiCo2O4 outer shell to form complex, inducing the nonradical oxidation of BPA by electron abstraction. The double-shelled hollow structure helped to increase the instantaneous concentration of reactants in the void space of Co3O4/NiCo2O4 DSNCs, thus promoting the decomposition of BPA. The Co3O4/NiCo2O4 DSNCs had high selectivity for BPA degradation and were resistant to halogens and background organic matter in wastewater. Our work indicated that metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived nanomaterials with a hollow structure have a promising application prospect for persulfate-based advanced oxidation technology.