Cu-doped waste-tire carbon as catalyst for UV/HO oxidation of ofloxacin.

Ofloxacin (OFX), commonly employed in the treatment of infectious diseases, is frequently detected in aquatic environments and poses potential ecological risks. UV/HO oxidation has been recognized as an efficient approach for removing antibiotics. In this study, Cu-doped waste-tire carbon was prepared and used as a UV/HO catalyst for the degradation of OFX. The results showed that the OFX removal was 89.3% within 90 min under the optimal reaction conditions. It was found that ZnO, used in the tire manufacturing to promote rubber vulcanization for enhanced stability and durability, played an important role in UV/H₂O₂ oxidation for OFX degradation. Toxicity experiments conducted with a microbial degradation respirometer demonstrated that the treated water exhibited low toxicity. This study introduces a sustainable catalyst derived from waste tires, and facilitating the development of metal-carbon catalysts for the effective removal of antibiotics from wastewater.