Amorphous FeOOH Anchored on Boron and Nitrogen Codoped Carbon Nanotubes for Fenton-like Oxidation of Sulfamethoxazole

Amorphous iron oxide/hydroxides with structural disorder can be a potential alternative to typical crystalline structures when applied in environmental nanotechnology. In this work, novel amorphous FeOOH quantum dots (QDs) anchored on boron and nitrogen codoped graphene nanotubes (FeOOH@BNG) with different Fe loadings were synthesized and applied in the degradation of common antibiotic pollutant sulfamethoxazole (SMX). The as-fabricated catalysts were characterized by a series of physicochemical and thermal techniques, revealing the highly dispersive FeOOH QDs on the BNG surface. The as-prepared catalyst shows excellent catalytic ability toward SMX degradation via a Fenton-like approach. The excellent activity of the as-prepared FeOOH@BNG catalysts was ascribed to the enhanced textural properties and better exposure of active sites, thanks to the highly dispersive Fe sites on the BNG supports. The optimal catalyst, FeOOH-5@BNG, was further employed for the optimization of key reaction parameters such as catalyst loading, H₂O₂ dosage, pH, and reaction temperature. Moreover, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and reactive species quenching tests were employed to reveal the responsive reactive oxygen species and the mechanism in the FeOOH@BNG/H₂O₂ system for SMX degradation. The current study not only opens new insights into the fabrication of amorphous but metallic nanomaterials but also leads to their potential application in environmental remediation.