Mousavi Seyedeh Mahdieh, Mohtaram Mohammad Sina, Rasouli Kamal, Mohtaram Soheil, Rajabi Hamid, Sabbaghi Samad
Department of Nano-Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Advanced Technologies, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
Environ Pollut. 2025 Feb 15;367:125624. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125624. Epub 2024 Dec 31.
Photocatalytic technology has emerged as a promising solution to global water contamination, mainly through the effective degradation of persistent pharmaceutical pollutants. However, a few challenges still exist in enhancing degradation efficiency, reducing the toxicity of by-products, and ensuring cost-effective scalability. This study focuses on Tetracycline Hydrochloride (TCH) as an index antibiotic pollutant to evaluate the performance of a novel MXene-derived TiO-supported SiO₂/TiC composite (SMXT) synthesized using ultrasonic and wet impregnation techniques. The SMXT-450 sample, annealed at 450 °C, exhibited a remarkable 95% degradation of TCH within 80 min, surpassing more complex three-component systems. The superior photocatalytic activities, validated through comprehensive characterisation tests, were found to stem from an optimized band gap, minimised electron-hole recombination, and enhanced charge transfer. The effective degradation process, primarily driven by •O₂⁻ and •OH radicals, was confirmed by trapping and ESR analysis. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and toxicity assessments also revealed that the intermediate degradation products are less harmful, further demonstrating the environmental sustainability of the formulated nanocomposites in treating antibiotic-polluted waters. This study's findings can highlight the potential of MXene-derived nanocomposites for the efficient remediation of antibiotic-contaminated water, offering a cost-effective and scalable approach to mitigating the impact of pharmaceutical pollutants on aquatic ecosystems.
光催化技术已成为解决全球水污染问题的一种有前景的方法，主要是通过有效降解持久性药物污染物。然而，在提高降解效率、降低副产物毒性以及确保具有成本效益的可扩展性方面仍存在一些挑战。本研究以盐酸四环素（TCH）作为指示性抗生素污染物，来评估一种采用超声和湿浸渍技术合成的新型MXene衍生的TiO负载SiO₂/TiC复合材料（SMXT）的性能。在450°C退火的SMXT-450样品在80分钟内对TCH的降解率高达95%，超过了更复杂的三组分体系。通过全面的表征测试验证，其优异的光催化活性源于优化的带隙、最小化的电子-空穴复合以及增强的电荷转移。捕获和电子顺磁共振（ESR）分析证实，主要由•O₂⁻和•OH自由基驱动的有效降解过程。高效液相色谱（HPLC）和毒性评估还表明，中间降解产物的危害较小，进一步证明了所制备的纳米复合材料在处理抗生素污染水体方面的环境可持续性。本研究结果突出了MXene衍生的纳米复合材料在高效修复抗生素污染水体方面的潜力，为减轻药物污染物对水生生态系统的影响提供了一种经济高效且可扩展的方法。
