Construction of UiO-66-NH2/BiOBr heterojunctions on carbon fiber cloth as macroscale photocatalyst for purifying antibiotics

Abstract

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) as a novel semiconductor-like material with high adsorption were used to combine with other efficient semiconductors to enhance the adsorption capacity and photocatalytic activity for removing antibiotics from aqueous solutions. In addition, most of the efficient photocatalysts are in powder-shaped, making recycling problematic. To solve the above problems, with macroscale carbon fiber cloth (CFC) as the substrate, Zr-based MOFs (UiO-66-NH2) as a model material with ultra-high specific area and BiOBr as an efficient semiconductor with irregular sheet structure were synthesized sequentially by a solvothermal method and dip-coating process. The prepared CFC/UiO-66-NH2/BiOBr exhibits strong adsorption of 65.4% levofloxacin (LVFX) or 16.8% ciprofloxacin (CIP) within 60 min in dark, and excellent degradation of 92.2% LVFX or 86.4% CIP under visible-light irradiation over a period of 120min. Additionally, after 4 cycles of visible-light irradiation, the macroscale CFC/UiO-66-NH2/BiOBr exhibits stable removal efficiency of antibiotics. Using low-cost CFC as substrate, CFC/UiO-66-NH2/BiOBr shows high efficiency and recyclability in removing antibiotics from polluted wastewater, offering guidance for developing highly effective photocatalysts on a large scale through methods like calcination and sol-gel synthesis. Therefore, the macroscale CFC/UiO-66-NH2/BiOBr has great potential for purifying antibiotics under visible-light illumination, presenting a practical solution for sustainable development.