Mn/N co-doped biochar-activated persulfate degradation of tetracycline in water | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Mn/N co-doped biochar-activated persulfate degradation of tetracycline in water Haichen Cui, Lu Li, Yannan Jia, Nannan Xu, Zheng Wang, Zhendong Liu, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9365760/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Fresh sweet flag ( Acorus calamus ) biochar (BC) was modified by impregnation pyrolysis, and the ability of the resulting Mn/N-BC material to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS) adsorption and degrade tetracycline (TC) was investigated alongside its reaction mechanism. Under the optimal 1:1:1 BC:N:Mn doping ratio and optimal experimental conditions (2 mM PDS, 1.0 g/L catalyst dosage, pH 7), Mn/N-BC + PDS degraded 93.67% of 20 mg/mL TC within 120 min and maintained a removal rate of > 80% after three cycles. Co-doping of two elements provided a large number of active sites for PDS activation. Nitrogen was detected in the form of pyridine N, pyrrole N, and graphite N. Structural defects caused by doping in carbon materials generates 1 O 2 non-free radicals, and loading of Mn breaks the O-O bond in PDS and produces SO 4 • − and •OH free radicals. These reactive substances play a role in degrading TC and other organic pollutants. Following treatment with the developed system, TC solutions exhibited reduced toxicity and potential feasibility for further exploration in water treatment. Modified biochar Mn/N co-doping Persulfate degradation Activation mechanism Degradation efficiency Organic pollutant Mn/N-BC catalyst Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 08 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 05 May, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 30 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 25 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9365760","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":637598736,"identity":"2e34b0a8-b8a2-4031-bab5-5cd425998ca4","order_by":0,"name":"Haichen Cui","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nanjing Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Haichen","middleName":"","lastName":"Cui","suffix":""},{"id":637598737,"identity":"4a96b44a-a2c0-4db1-aee5-e07e73f72907","order_by":1,"name":"Lu Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nanjing Water Group Co., 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