Abstract
Bisphenol-A (BPA), a commonly used chemical in the production of thermal paper and kinetic polymers, acts as an endocrine disruptor, leading to biological accumulation in the environment and posing long-term risks to human health. This study aimed to assess the degradation of BPA using persulfate (PS) activated by nickel ferrite-anchored zinc oxide (ZnO@NiFe(2)O(4)) nanoparticles in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The ZnO@NiFe(2)O(4) catalyst was synthesized using a co-precipitation method. Its structure was characterized through FESEM, EDS, XRD, VSM, DRS, TEM, and PL analyses. Several parameters including solution pH, initial BPA concentration, and catalyst and PS dosages were examined. Additionally, the influence of interfering ions such as nitrate, chloride, sulfate, carbonate, and bicarbonate was evaluated. Total organic carbon (TOC) analysis was conducted to measure BPA mineralization throughout the process. Lastly, the reusability of the photocatalyst and the overall efficiency of the process were assessed. Under optimal conditions (pH = 9, BPA concentration = 0.04 g/L, catalyst dosage = 0.3 g/L, and PS = mM), the highest removal efficiency and mineralization of BPA after 15 min were found to be > 99.9% and 59.21%, respectively. However, interfering ions reduced the BPA degradation efficiency in order of Cl(-) (51.75%) < SO(4)(-2) (70.61%) < NO(3)(-) (75.41%) < CO(3)(-2) (82.41%). After four recovery cycles, the catalyst's effectiveness decreased to 15.7%. The photocatalytic oxidation of BPA adhered to pseudo-first-order kinetics (k = 0.23 min(-1)). In conclusion, the PS activated by ZnO@NiFe(2)O(4)/UV proved to be effective for BPA degradation due to its strong performance and high recovery capability.