Strontium peroxide as a potential photocatalyst: rapid degradation of organic and pharmaceutical pollutants

Abstract

The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is crucial for effective and sustainable decontamination of environmental pollutants. Towards this objective, a strontium peroxide (SrO₂) photocatalyst was designed as an eco-friendly ROS generator, exhibiting remarkable photocatalytic activity under dual-light responsive conditions (UV and sunlight irradiation). In this study, SrO₂ was synthesized using a simple co-precipitation method for efficiently removing emerging contaminants. The pristine SrO₂ photocatalyst exhibited outstanding performance in degrading organic and pharmaceutical pollutants such as rhodamine B (RhB), methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), and moxifloxacin (MOX). The optimized photocatalytic performance was guaranteed by optimizing parameters like pollutant concentration, photocatalyst quantity, and light sources. Notably, SrO₂ exhibited superior photocatalytic activity under UV conditions in the degradation of moxifloxacin, exhibiting an impressive 96% degradation within just 15 minutes, surpassing the performance of other reported photocatalysts. Under sunlight irradiation, SrO₂ exhibited a 99% degradation for MB within 30 minutes, and for rhodamine B, a 91% degradation within 105 minutes. The RhB degradation pathway was monitored using HRMS analysis and toxicity assessment analyzed by the ECOSAR program. The photocatalyst displayed excellent stability and reusability even after three testing cycles. This study opens up new possibilities for wastewater treatment and environmental pollution control. A SrO₂ photocatalyst is reported here for the first time.