Enhanced light harvesting ability in hollow Pt/TiO2 nanoreactor for boosting tetracycline photodegradation

Utilizing solar energy to decompose tetracycline (TC) is a green strategy to treat wastewater. Herein, a heterogeneous hollow structured TiO 2 decorated Pt nanoparticles were successfully designed and synthesized via hard-template approach and photo-deposition process toward TC photodegradation . The Pt nanoparticles loaded on the surface of hollow structured TiO 2 can increase the visible light absorption due to the local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect. Furthermore, owing to the tough electron oscillation of the LSPR excitation, the plasmonic hot holes on the surface of Pt nanoparticles can capture the electrons of TiO 2 , effectively facilitating the separation of photo-excited charge carriers because of the formation of Schottky junction constructed between Pt and TiO 2 . Combined the natural merits of shorten conveying path of charge carriers and physical structural stability for hollow structure, the optimal Pt/TiO 2 hetero-junction hybrid showed superior photocatalytic activity and durability for TC photodegradation with the degradation efficiency of 93.8 ​% after 30 ​min and the rate constant of 0.09196 min −1 under 300 ​W Xe lamp irradiation. This work displays a heterogeneous hybrids catalyst based on eco-friendly metal and semiconductor materials which can be used in the fields including without limitation TC photodegradation.