Pharmaceuticals may pose serious potential risks, such as biological responses and chronic health effects, due to their ubiquitous in natural aquatic water bodies. In this study, we proposed an effective, feasible, and low-cost strategy for the abatement of pharmaceuticals (i.e., phenylbutazone (PBZ) and sulfinpyrazone (SPZ)) via Co₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) as heterogeneous catalyst in permanganate (Mn(VII)) oxidation for the first time. The performance of the Co₃O₄ NPs in permanganate oxidation is highly dependent on pH and its dosage. Co₃O₄ NPs play as electron shuttles in the catalytic permanganate oxidation process involving one-electron transfer with the oxidation of ≡Co^II to ≡Co^III by permanganate and the formation of colloidal manganese dioxide (MnO₂), as well as the reduction of the newly formed ≡Co^III to ≡Co^II by organics and the production of oxidized organic byproducts. The degradation pathways of PBZ and SPZ in catalytic permanganate oxidation were proposed based on the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) results and Gaussian calculation, and the toxicity decay of pharmaceuticals during oxidation was observed. Considering the stability, reusability, and cost, Co₃O₄ coupled with Mn(VII) is suitable for water pretreatment and is potentially feasible for industrial application, which is not only effective for decomposing PBZ and SPZ, but also for eliminating their toxicity.

药物可能会带来严重的潜在风险，例如生物反应和慢性健康影响，因为它们普遍存在于天然水生水体中。在这项研究中，我们提出了一种有效、可行且低成本的策略，通过 Co ₃ O ₄纳米粒子 (NPs) 作为高锰酸盐 (Mn (VII))第一次氧化。Co ₃ O ₄ NPs 在高锰酸盐氧化中的性能高度依赖于 pH 值及其用量。Co ₃ O ₄ NPs在催化高锰酸盐氧化过程中起电子穿梭作用，涉及单电子转移和≡Co氧化^II到≡Co ^III和高锰酸盐胶体二氧化锰（MnO ₂）的形成，以及新形成的≡Co ^III被有机物还原成≡Co ^II并产生氧化的有机副产物。基于液相色谱-串联质谱(LC-MS/MS)结果和高斯计算，提出了PBZ和SPZ在催化高锰酸盐氧化中的降解途径，并观察了氧化过程中药物的毒性衰减。考虑稳定性、可重用性和成本，Co ₃ O ₄ 与Mn(VII)结合适用于水预处理，具有工业应用潜力，不仅能有效分解PBZ和SPZ，还能消除它们的毒性。