Bifunctional catalysts based on carbon-coated manganese microspheres applied in the heterogeneous electro-Fenton process for tetracycline degradation Fajardo-Puerto, Edgar Elmouwahidi, Abdelhakim Amaro-Gahete, Juan Pérez-Cadenas, María Bailón-García, Esther Pérez Cadenas, Agustín Francisco Carrasco-Marín, Francisco Carbon-coated manganese microspheres Oxygen reduction reaction Bifunctional electro-Fenton catalyst TC degradation Antibiotic contamination in water is a major threat to public health and ecosystems, driven by the spread of resistant bacteria and challenges in treating diseases. Tetracycline (TC), a widely used and persistent antibiotic, has prompted the development of advanced oxidation processes like electro-Fenton for its removal. In this study, carbon-coated manganese microspheres were synthesized as bifunctional electro-Fenton catalysts capable of carrying out oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and TC degradation in the same electrochemical process. The C90Mn10 formulation, with a high carbon xerogel content, exhibited excellent ORR activity and achieved 90 % TC degradation after 300 min of treatment. This performance was attributed to the synergistic activity of Mn2 +/ Mn3+ species and the carbon xerogel in generating hydroxyl radicals via direct and indirect pathways. The catalyst demonstrated stable performance over multiple cycles, maintaining structural integrity and resisting leaching due to the carbon coating. These findings underscore the potential of carbon-coated manganese catalysts as efficient and scalable solutions for removing pharmaceutical contaminants like TC from wastewater. 2025-04-24T06:57:38Z 2025-04-24T06:57:38Z 2025-02-05 journal article Fajardo-Puerto, E., Elmouwahidi, A., Amaro-Gahete, J., Pérez-Cadenas, M., Bailón-García, E., Pérez-Cadenas, A. F., & Carrasco-Marín, F. (2025). Bifunctional catalysts based on carbon-coated manganese microspheres applied in the heterogeneous electro-Fenton process for tetracycline degradation. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 115725. 2213-2929 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/103773 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.115725 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ open access Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering