CoFe₂O₄ integrated Zr-based MOF nanocomposites for enhanced remediation of tetracycline hydrochloride

A Zr-based metal-organic framework (Zr-MOF) was decorated with spherical CoFe₂O₄ to fabricate a Zr-MOF/CFO hybrid for tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) removal. TC adsorption on the hybrid followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir models, attributed to the abundant sulfonic and carboxyl groups in the MOF ligands. The synergistic combination of CoFe₂O₄ and Zr-MOF, enhanced TC degradation efficiency to 96.4% within 10 min in the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) oxidation system. The key parameters in the PMS-activated system indicated that Zr-MOF/CFO effectively alleviated the adverse effects of environmental pH, salt ions, and humic acid on the catalytic process. Quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) identified ¹O₂ as the dominant reactive species, with only minor contributions from SO₄^•– and HO^•. This work demonstrates that the prepared magnetic composites exhibit acceptable reusability for TC degradation and hold broad prospects for pollutants remediation via PMS activation.