Catalytic oxidation of phenol by CuO/peroxymonosulfate system

CuO particles were synthesized by direct precipitation method and were used to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for catalytic oxidation of phenol at ambient conditions. The catalyst was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effects of several parameters on the degradation efficiency of the process were investigated. The results show that 100% decomposition and 84% TOC removal of phenol (50 mg/L) could be achieved within 60 min under the optimum conditions (initial PMS concentration of 0.25 g/L, catalysts dosage of 0.2 g/L, and initial solution pH 7). Moreover, the catalyst was demonstrated to have good reusability. Radical quenching studies were conducted to classify the type of active radicals present in the reaction. Based on the results, a reasonable mechanism was investigated to interpret the catalytic degradation process.