Satisfactory degradation of tetracycline by a pH-universal CoFe-LDH/MoS₂ heterojunction catalyst in Fenton process

Fenton or Fenton-like reactions have been widely used in various fields, including solar energy conversion to generate hydroxyl radicals, environmental remediation, biology, and life science. However, the slow Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ cycle and narrow applicable pH range still present significant challenges. Here, a heterostructured CoFe-layered double hydroxide/MoS₂ nanocomposite (CoFe-LDH/MoS₂) was prepared via simple electrostatic interactions. The heterostructure establishes a robust interfacial contact, leading to an abundance of exposed Mo⁶⁺ sites. Consequently, the developed CoFe-LDH/MoS₂+H₂O₂ system exhibited superior performance in the degradation of tetracycline (>85%) within 60 min across a wide pH range from acidic to basic. Moreover, the CoFe-LDH/MoS₂ heterojunction catalysts exhibited exceptional resistance to common anions and efficiently degraded various organic pollutants. The mechanism study verified that the CoFe-LDH/MoS₂ had high efficiency in producing ¹O₂ and ‧OH to degrade various organic pollutants. The present study will serve as a foundation for creating efficient catalyst systems for related environmental remediation.