A temperature-sensitive modified imprinted Ag-Poly (o-phenylenediamine) photocatalyst synthesized by microwave method for efficient degradation of ciprofloxacin

The magnetic carbon material was synthesized by a simple solid-phase method, and a modified imprinting layer was formed on the surface of the magnetic carbon material by molecular imprinting and microwave methods, and the final modified imprinted Ag-Poly (o-phenylenediamine) (Ag-POPD) photocatalyst was used to degrade the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The as prepared photocatalyst is very sensitive to temperature, and the ciprofloxacin degradation rate in ambient environment (25 °C) was 73.25% higher than at 40 °C. The photocatalyst has high selectivity to ciprofloxacin and is convenient to recover due to its magnetic properties. The significant increase in photocatalytic activity is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect between Ag and magnetic carbon materials that can accelerate the spatial separation of charge carriers. Furthermore, details of the photocatalytic degradation mechanism of the photocatalyst composite are discussed. The described method is a new single-step continuous microwave synthesis, which also opens new ways to modify/tune materials.