Porous boron nitride (BN) nanorods,
which were synthesized via
a one-stage pyrolysis, exhibited excellent catalytic performance for
organics’ degradation via peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation.
The origin of the unexpected catalytic function of porous BN nanorods
was proposed, in which non-radical oxidation driven by the defects
on porous BN dominated the sulfamethoxazole degradation via the generation
of singlet oxygen (1O2). The adsorption energy
between PMS and BN was calculated via density functional theory (DFT),
and the PMS activation kinetics were further investigated using an
electrochemical methodology. The evolution of 1O2 was verified by electron spin resonance (ESR) and chemical scavenging
experiments. The observed non-radical oxidation presented a high robustness
in different water matrices, combined with a series of much less toxic
intermediates. The used BN was easily regenerated by heating in air,
in which the B–O bond was fully recovered. These findings provide
new insights for BN as a non-metal catalyst for organics’ degradation
via PMS activation, in both theoretical and practical prospects.