Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride by molecular imprinted film modified TiO2 nanotubes

To enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanotubes, tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) molecularly imprinted titania modified TiO2 nanotubes (MIP-TiO2) was prepared by liquid phase deposition, which improved the molecular recognition ability of the photocatalyst toward template molecules. This MIP-TiO2 photocatalyst was characterized by ESEM and XRD, which showed that the imprinted titania was deposited on the nanotube uniformly and was of well-crystalized anatase-type. In the adsorption experiments, MIP-TiO2 exhibited a high adsorption capacity (about 1.6 times higher than that of TiO2 nanotubes) for TC mainly because of its imprinted sites and high surface area. Under UV irradiation MIP-TiO2 showed enhanced photocatalytic activity with an apparent first-order rate constant 1.9-fold that of TiO2 nanotubes.