Mesoporous TiO2 enhanced by anchoring Mn3O4 for highly efficient photocatalyst toward photo-oxidation of ciprofloxacin

We describe the synthesis of mesoporous Mn3O4/TiO2 nanocomposites in the occurrence soft template. TEM images exhibited the Mn3O4/TiO2 nanocomposites homogeneous morphology with a particle size of similar to 10-15 nm with close contact between TiO2 anatase and Mn(3)O(4)crystals. The mesoporous Mn3O4/TiO2 nanocomposites were assessed toward degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) under visible illumination, which achieved 98.6% CIP degradation within 120 min. The degradation efficiency over porous 3% Mn3O4/TiO2 was greater 18 fold than that bare TiO2. The apparent degradation rate of the optimum 3% Mn3O4/TiO2 photocatalyst was fostered 22 folds higher than that of bare TiO2 NPs. Interestingly, the enhanced photocatalytic ability for Mn3O4/TiO2 heterojunction was significantly referred to the high absorption of visible light, synergistic effect and the unique structure with large surface area, which improved the CIP adsorption on porous Mn3O4/TiO2. Besides, theMn(3)O(4)/TiO2 photocatalysts displayed stability and recyclability toward degradation of CIP for 10 h illumination. The photoelectrochemical and photoluminescence measurements of Mn3O4/TiO2 nanocomposites revealed an enhanced light-harvesting and effective electron-holes separation compared with bare TiO2. The prospective mechanism for degradation of CIP overMn(3)O(4)/TiO2 heterojunction was presented.

Automated summary

This study describes the synthesis of mesoporous Mn3O4/TiO2 nanocomposites using a soft template method. The nanocomposites exhibited a homogeneous morphology with a particle size of around 10-15 nm, and had close contact between TiO2 anatase and Mn(3)O(4) crystals. The nanocomposites showed excellent photocatalytic degradation performance for ciprofloxacin under visible light illumination. The enhanced photocatalytic ability was attributed to the high absorption of visible light, synergistic effect, and unique structure with a large surface area.