Work

A novel magnetic surface molecularly imprinted photocatalyst (mCSp-TiO2-SMIPs) for the targeted photodegradation of potentially hazardous salicylic acid under visible light: Providing valuable insights into enhancing photocatalyst performance using natural sporopollenin

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Salicylic acid (SA) is one of the most common compounds in pharmaceutical and personal care products, representing a potentially harmful pollutant in aquatic environments. This study presents the first development of a magnetic surface molecularly imprinted photocatalyst (mCSp-TiO 2 -SMIPs) that used cattail sporopollenin (CSp) as a natural carbon hybrid material and skeleton support for the selective adsorption and efficient photodegradation of SA in complex aquatic environments. The hybridization of CSp with TiO 2 increased the light utilization rate, enhanced the transport speed of photogenerated carriers, and significantly improved the photocatalytic performance. In addition, the spherical cage-like structure of CSp along with abundant functional groups facilitated the loading of surface molecularly imprinted polymers, which provided a large number of imprinted sites for SA adsorption onto the photocatalyst surface, thus improving the selective degradation efficiency of SA. Compared with some previously reported photocatalysts, mCSp-TiO 2 -SMIPs exhibited more effective performance in SA degradation. Furthermore, mCSp-TiO 2 -SMIPs demonstrated promising application prospects in a wide pH range and various water matrices. Overall, the novel photocatalyst mCSp-TiO 2 -SMIPs developed in this study showed great potential for degrading SA in complex aquatic environments. Also, this study provided valuable insights into the utilization of natural sporopollenin to enhance photocatalyst performance.

Source: Applied Surface Science

DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2025.165712

Authors: Ying Liu, Yuan Wang, Jiao Jiao, Qing-Yan Gai, Yu-Jie Fu, Yi-Bo Qiu

Institutions: Northeast Forestry University, Beijing Forestry University

Language: English

Topic: TiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells

Subfield: Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Field: Energy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,930

Funders: Northeast Forestry University, Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province