Novel formation of large area N-TiO2/graphene layered materials and enhanced photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics

Considering the increase in antibiotic resistance developed by microbes due to the excess of pharmaceutical waste in the ecosystem, the photocatalytic activity was measured by degrading multiple antibiotics. Large area N-TiO2/graphene layered materials were produced by three step method. To improve the surface contact for better separation processes, it need to precisely control the morphologies of 2D layered materials. The treatment of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet can generate uniform distribution of crackles which are beneficial to dope TiO2 and implant graphene. The characteristics of N-TiO2/GR layered materials were analyzed by XRD, Raman, SEM, optical image, UV-vis and Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet was analyzed by optical emission spectra. The photocatalytic degradation of multiple antibiotic (norfloxacin, sulfamethazine, oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline) showed that N-TiO2/graphene layered materials exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity. The proposed charge transfer mechanism under UV light irradiation were suggested to explain the layered materials behaviors. This work opens up a new route to exploring layered material materials in photodegradation field of antibiotics.