Rationally Printed Continuous Optical Fibers To Realize Internal Light-Activated Catalysis with Less Irradiation Dissipation

The accessibility of an external light source to a catalyst surface is an urgent constraint to the enhancement of photocatalytic properties because the energy loss caused by light scattering and absorption from solutions will significantly reduce the light transfer efficiency. Here, a novel photocatalytic metamaterial achieving internal light propagation and transmission is fabricated using a 3D-printed continuous SiO₂ optical fiber serving as a light channel. In addition to the traditional external light source that provides a photodegradation efficiency of 8−90% in 90 min under the condition of a 300 W Xe lamp, the photocatalyst with the same quality excited by a 0.5 W laser with a wavelength of 405 nm can realize an additional photodegradation efficiency of 12.05%. CdS synthesized using the hydrothermal method had a relatively higher specific surface area of 30.65 m² g⁻¹, while the residual performance was 78.50% after cycling 10 times. On the other hand, the continuous fiber as a reinforcement of the 3D polymer structure significantly improved the mechanical properties. The compressive strength and fracture energy absorption increased by nearly 3 and 9 times, respectively. This strategy also simultaneously solved the problems of agglomeration and irrecoverability of the traditional powder catalyst, which paves the way for its large-scale industrial application.