In₂O₃/CuO heterostructure derived from indium-copper bimetallic metal–organic frameworks to activate peroxymonosulfate for rapid degradation of tinidazole

A heterojunction photocatalyst In₂O₃/CuO-2 was prepared through hydrothermal method and pyrolysis in this work. Tinidazole (TNZ) was used as target pollutants to evaluate the catalytic performance of In₂O₃/CuO-2 with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) as oxidant. 30 mg of In₂O₃/CuO-2 with 1.0 mmol PMS could remove 98.9% TNZ (20 mg/L) in 20 min. The effects on the degradation efficiency of TNZ were investigated. Environmental application value of In₂O₃/CuO-2 was evaluated, which included the effects of reusability, water matric, inorganic ions, and organic contaminant mixture on catalytic degradation. It was discovered that •OH, O₂^•−, ¹O₂, and SO₄^•− were the major ROSs during the degradation process. This work might prove that the heterojunction In₂O₃/CuO-2 exhibited efficient degradation performance for environmental remediation.