Enhanced performance of hierarchical porous HKUST-1/g-C3N4 heterostructure in the degradation of antibiotics with and without light

Nie, Liqin; Wang, Kaige; Zhao, Wei; Zhang, Chen; Shen, Tiehan

Abstract

Currently, the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for water treatment are limited by the demand on externally supplied oxidants or illumination. To overcome these constraints, a series of micro-nano-composites composed of a copper-based metal–organic framework 'HKUST-1' and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets, were designed and synthesized via electrostatic self-assembly, hydrothermal treatment and decarboxylation. These hierarchical porous catalysts (HP-HKUST-1/g-C3N4) exhibit outstanding characteristics, particularly, in the degradation of Tetracycline Hydrochloride (TCH) under either total darkness or visible illumination. Experimental results demonstrate that TCH can be effectively degraded without externally supplied oxidant. Under dark conditions, 30 mg of the catalyst removed 99.92% of 50 mL 50 mg·L−1 TCH in 30 min; under visible light, 99.95% degradation was achieved in just 20 min. The exceptional performance is attributed to high Cu(I) content which offer strong reducing power to activate O2 to generate H2O2. Additionally, photoexcited electrons in g-C3N4 transfer to HKUST-1 via heterojunctions, which suppresses the recombination of electron-hole pairs in g-C3N4 and supplies extra electrons for the O2 reduction in HKUST-1. This study not only presents ideas for designing highly efficient catalysts with self-produced H2O2 by activating O2, but also proposes a practical pathway towards the development of AOPs for wastewater treatment.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 4, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jun 6, 2025
• Publication Date: 2025-12
• Deposit Date: Jul 10, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 10, 2025
• Journal: Separation and Purification Technology
• Print ISSN: 1383-5866
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 376
• Article Number: 133894
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.133894
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Enhanced performance of hierarchical porous HKUST-1/g-C3N4 heterostructure in the degradation of antibiotics with and without light; Journal Title: Separation and Purification Technology; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.133894; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.