Fabrication of a Heterojunction by Coupling a Metal–Organic Framework and N-Doped Carbon for the Photocatalytic Removal of Antibiotic Drugs with High Efficiency

Abstract

Norfloxacin (NOR) and tetracycline (TC), two widely used antibiotic drugs released to the aquatic environment, induce harm to ecosystems. In this study, an effective method was developed successfully to remove NOR and TC by photocatalysis with a novel heterojunction NC/NH2-MIL-53­(Fe), which was fabricated by combining a metal–organic framework (MOF) material (NH2-MIL-53­(Fe)) and N-doped carbon (NC) nanoparticles via a facile solvent thermal method. The prepared product exhibits outstanding photocatalytic efficiencies toward degradation of NOR and TC that are 15 and 6 times higher than those of pure NH2-MIL-53­(Fe), respectively. Moreover, it is higher than those of the related materials reported previously. The greatly enhanced photocatalytic performance is assigned to the fabricated heterojunction with well-matched energy band gaps, where the NC acts as an efficient electron transfer/reservoir material to effectively promote the migration and transfer and restrain the recombination of charge carriers. In addition, the formed heterojunction increases specific surface area and light absorbance. The photocatalytic activity enhanced mechanism, degradation products, and pathway were investigated. The present study offers a novel strategy to significantly improve the photocatalytic performances of MOFs for highly efficient photocatalytic removal of antibiotic drugs in wastewater.

Fabrication of an S-Scheme Heterojunction Photocatalyst MoS2/PANI with Greatly Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance

“…The prepared heterojunction exhibits outstanding photocatalytic properties for the degradation of norfloxacin (NOR) and rhodamineB (RhB). The NOR and RhB are a widely used antibiotic drug and an organic dye, respectively, which are released into the environment causing irreversible adverse effects and threatening both ecosystems and human health. , This study provides a facile strategy to greatly improve the photocatalytic performance of MoS 2 and facilitates its application for efficient removal of NOR, RhB, and other organic pollutants.…”