Ibuprofen (IBU),a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug,is becoming an important member of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) as emerging pollutants.To degrade IBU,magnetic Fe3C nanoparticles embedded on N-doped carbon (Fe3C/NC) were prepared as a catalyst by a sol-gel combustion method.As characterized,the Fe3C/NC nanoparticles were composed of a NC nano-sheet and capsulated Fe3C particles on the sheet.The Fe3C/NC nanoparticles were confirmed an efficient catalyst for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to generate sulfate radicals (SO*4-),single oxygen (1O2) and hydroxyl radicals (·OH) toward the degradation of IBU.The added IBU (10 mg/L) was almost completely removed in 30 min by using 0.1 g/L Fe3C/NC and 2 g/L PMS.The catalyst was confirmed to have good ability and excellent reusability through leaching measurements and cycle experiments.A catalytic mechanism was proposed for the catalytic activation of PMS on Fe3C/NC,which involves both Fe3C reactive sites and N-doped carbon matrix as reactive sites in Fe3C/NC.Moreover,the degradation pathway of IBU in the Fe3C/NC-PMS system was proposed according to the detections of degradation intermediates.