Benzothiazole derivatives (BTHs) are a group of xenobiotic heterocyclic compounds often found in industrial wastewater and sewage treatment. Many of these emerging organic pollutants are recalcitrant, not biodegradable, and can persist in the environment for a prolonged time even at low concentrations. These persistent organic pollutants (POPs) exhibit high stability against sunlight and are resistant to temperature or biochemical degradation (e.g., via microbial degradation). Furthermore, the structure of BTH and its derivatives is similar to naturally occurring purines, and thus they can interact with many biomolecules, which can pose a toxicological risk to humans and other organisms. An example of such a compound is 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (2-MBT), which can be released into water from factories that manufacture rubber. Due to these reasons, pollutant removal strategies that are environmentally sustainable, allow higher degradation efficiency, and have a lower maintenance cost are highly desirable. In this research, we aim to explore advanced electro-oxidation processes (AEOPS) as an alternative method for the degradation of the contaminant 2-MBT. The degradation efficiency of 0.05 mM of 2-MBT in aqueous solutions monitored by UV-Visible spectroscopy and LC/MS was accelerated in bulk electrolysis experiments mediated by a cobalt water-oxidation nanocatalyst.

A green route to the degradation of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (a potential carcinogen) using a water oxidation catalyst

ACS Fall 2021

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