Electrostatic Attraction-Driven Interaction between TiO2 and Colloidal Carbon Quantum Dots for Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline and Antibacterial Activity Analysis

IF 2.3 4区化学 Q3 CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL

Catalysis Letters Pub Date : 2025-02-12 DOI:10.1007/s10562-025-04939-4

Shiwei Xu, Song Zhang, Haiguang Zhao, Bing Liu, Yuanming Zhang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Developing simple, durable, and efficient photocatalysts is crucial for achieving environmentally friendly treatment of organic pollutants in water. In this study, nanoscale titanium dioxide (TiO₂) with a size of approximately 5 nm was synthesized using the sol-gel method, and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with a size of around 3–5 nm were prepared via a vacuum heating process. The preparation conditions could be controlled to render the TiO₂ surface positively charged and the CQDs surface negatively charged. The combination of TiO₂ with CQDs can form a heterojunction, thereby improving light absorption and the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers. This enables effective light harvesting and carrier transfer, enhancing the photocatalytic performance. The ζ-potentiometer and electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements confirmed the successful fabrication of high-performance TiO₂/CQDs composites through electrostatic attraction, forming an interfacial high-speed channel for the transfer of photogenerated carriers. The results demonstrated that the degradation kinetics rate of TiO₂/CQDs composites reached 0.1345 min^− 1 and degraded 98% of tetracycline hydrochloride within 30 min, which is 6.0 and 4.9 times higher than individual TiO₂ and CQDs, respectively. Based on analytical data and experimental results, the photocatalytic mechanism was elucidated, and intermediates along with reactive species were identified to propose possible degradation pathways. Additionally, antimicrobial testing confirmed the nontoxicity of the constructed catalysts and the complete degradation of the pollutants.

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来源期刊

Catalysis Letters 化学-物理化学

CiteScore

5.70

自引率

3.60%

发文量

327

审稿时长

1 months

期刊介绍： Catalysis Letters aim is the rapid publication of outstanding and high-impact original research articles in catalysis. The scope of the journal covers a broad range of topics in all fields of both applied and theoretical catalysis, including heterogeneous, homogeneous and biocatalysis. The high-quality original research articles published in Catalysis Letters are subject to rigorous peer review. Accepted papers are published online first and subsequently in print issues. All contributions must include a graphical abstract. Manuscripts should be written in English and the responsibility lies with the authors to ensure that they are grammatically and linguistically correct. Authors for whom English is not the working language are encouraged to consider using a professional language-editing service before submitting their manuscripts.