Highly efficient purification of emerging pollutants and bacteria in natural water by g-C3N4-sheltered fibers containing TiO2

Abstract In this work, a flexible photocatalytic material (TiO2@g-C3N4-cotton) was obtained using modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4-CONH-KH550) for the a connection between the natural cotton supports and titanium dioxide (TiO2) successively. Under the visible light, a valid photocatalytic activity was observed in the degradation of sulfaquinoxaline (SQX) and thiamethoxam. According to the support stability tests and the UV accelerated aging tests, g-C3N4-CONH-KH550 could shelter the supports with TiO2 from the oxidation attack by hydroxyl radicals (•OH) generated. The investigation of antibacterial activity showed efficient inactivation of both Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Therefore, TiO2@g-C3N4-cotton showed stronger mechanical performance and much longer lifetime compared with TiO2@cotton. The degradation products and processes of substrates were investigated. This paper provides a new idea about the construction of an efficient and stable supported photocatalytic material.