Sonoelectrochemical degradation of triclosan in water

•The sonoelectrochemical reaction system can be used for triclosan degradation showing a positive synergistic effect.•The diamond coated niobium electrode shows the best results in this study.•No additional chemicals are needed for the process.

The sonoelectrochemical degradation of triclosan in aqueous solutions with high-frequency ultrasound (850 kHz) and various electrodes was investigated. Diamond coated niobium electrode showed the best results and was used as standard electrode, leading to effective degradation and positive synergistic effect. The influence of different parameters on the degradation degree and energy efficiency were evaluated and favorable reaction conditions were found. It could be shown that 92% of triclosan (1 mg L−1 aqueous solution) was degraded within 15 min, following pseudo-first order kinetics.