Munir Javeria, Sajid Imran Haider, Irfan Syed, Rizwan Syed
Physics Characterization and Simulations Lab (PCSL), Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Natural Sciences (SNS), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) Islamabad 44000 Pakistan
State Key Laboratory of Environment-Friendly Energy Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology Mianyang 621010 PR China.
RSC Adv. 2025 Jul 18;15(31):25663-25674. doi: 10.1039/d5ra02680f. eCollection 2025 Jul 15.
Two-dimensional (2D), MXenes' large surface area, great hydrophilicity, chemical stability, tunable electronic structure, and excellent electrical conductivity make them effective photocatalysts by enhancing light absorption and charge separation. To harness solar energy for photocatalysis, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), known for their catalytic properties, were incorporated into MXene sheets to synthesize Ag@NbCT composite by a cost-effective and straightforward electrostatic self-assembly method. The SEM images showed that Ag NPs were attached to the surface of 2D exfoliated MXene sheets. The photocatalytic efficiency of the Ag@NbCT composite was investigated for the photodegradation of Norfloxacin and Fleroxacin antibiotics, showing 74% and 68% degradation, respectively, in 120 minutes. The band gap of the prepared composite was tuned to 1.76 eV. Compared to NbCT MXene, Ag@NbCT composite exhibited good photodegradation due to its improved charge separation and less charge recombination rate. The photoluminescence spectra also showed that pristine MXene has the highest electron-hole pair recombination rate compared to all prepared Ag@NbCT composites. It is challenging to degrade antibiotics because of their strong chemical stability, so Ag@NbCT composite could be a potential candidate for commercial applications owing to its low-cost synthesis route.
二维（2D）MXenes具有大表面积、强亲水性、化学稳定性、可调节的电子结构和优异的导电性，通过增强光吸收和电荷分离使其成为有效的光催化剂。为了利用太阳能进行光催化，以具有催化性能而闻名的银纳米颗粒（Ag NPs）被掺入MXene片中，通过一种经济高效且简单的静电自组装方法合成了Ag@NbCT复合材料。扫描电子显微镜（SEM）图像显示，Ag NPs附着在二维剥离的MXene片表面。研究了Ag@NbCT复合材料对诺氟沙星和氟罗沙星抗生素的光降解光催化效率，在120分钟内分别显示出74%和68%的降解率。制备的复合材料的带隙被调整为1.76电子伏特。与NbCT MXene相比，Ag@NbCT复合材料由于其改善的电荷分离和更低的电荷复合率而表现出良好的光降解性能。光致发光光谱还表明，与所有制备的Ag@NbCT复合材料相比，原始MXene具有最高的电子 - 空穴对复合率。由于抗生素具有很强的化学稳定性，降解它们具有挑战性，因此Ag@NbCT复合材料因其低成本的合成路线可能成为商业应用的潜在候选材料。
