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.