Copper-containing minerals have been extensively used in Fenton-like processes for degradation of pollutants and have exhibited great potential for environmental remediation. This work reports the first use of copper sulfide (CuS), a typical Cu-mineral, for the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for pollutant degradation; the study also elucidates the underlying mechanism of these processes. Copper sulfide effectively activated PMS to degrade diethyl phthalate (DEP). Electron paramagnetic resonance, free radical quenching, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analyses and DFT calculations confirmed that ≡Cu (I)/≡Cu (II) cycling on the surface of CuS provided the main pathway to activate PMS to produce highly oxidative species. Unlike conventional sulfate radical-based PMS activation processes, hydroxyl radical (^•OH) were found to be the dominant radical in the tested CuS/PMS system, which performed more efficiently than an alternative ^•OH-based oxidation system (CuS/H₂O₂) for DEP degradation. In addition, the presence of anions such Cl⁻ and NO₃⁻ has limited inhibition effects on DEP degradation. Overall, this study provides an efficient pathway for PMS-based environmental remediation as well as a new insight into the mechanism of PMS activation by Cu-containing minerals.

含铜矿物质已广泛用于类似芬顿的过程中，以降解污染物，并显示出巨大的环境修复潜力。这项工作报告了首次使用典型的铜矿物硫化铜（CuS）活化过氧单硫酸盐（PMS）来降解污染物；该研究还阐明了这些过程的潜在机制。硫化铜有效激活了PMS，以降解邻苯二甲酸二乙酯（DEP）。电子顺磁共振，自由基猝灭，X射线光电子能谱，X射线衍射分析和DFT计算证实，CuS表面上的≡Cu（I）/≡Cu（II）循环提供了激活PMS产生的主要途径高氧化性物质。与传统的基于硫酸根的PMS活化过程不同，羟基（^•在被测试的CuS / PMS系统中，发现^• OH）是主要的自由基，其表现出比DEP降解的替代^•基于OH的氧化系统（CuS / H ₂ O ₂）更有效。此外，阴离子，例如Cl组成的存在^-和NO ₃ ^-拥有有限的DEP降解抑制作用。总体而言，这项研究为基于PMS的环境修复提供了一条有效途径，并为含铜矿物质激活PMS的机理提供了新见解。