Preparation and Performance of a Novel Magnetic Imprinted TiO₂ Photocatalyst

A novel magnetic imprinted TiO₂ photocatalyst (Imprinted TiO₂/C/Fe₃O₄) was prepared based on ciprofloxacin (CIP) as the template molecule, tetrabutyl titanate (TBOT) as the cross-linking precursor, and C/Fe₃O₄ as the matrix material. C/Fe₃O₄ was synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The results indicated that the imprinted TiO₂/C/Fe₃O₄ possessed annular structure and paramagnetic property (M _s = 37.62 emu/g). Moreover, Imprinted TiO₂/C/Fe₃O₄ was proved to exhibit higher photocatalytic efficiency than ordinary TiO₂/C/Fe₃O₄, the degradation rate of degradation of CIP with imprinted TiO₂/C/Fe₃O₄ in 120 min under the visible light irradiation was 78.78%. In addition, compared with ordinary TiO₂/C/Fe₃O₄, imprinted TiO₂/C/Fe₃O₄ showed the strong ability to selective recognition and photodegradation of CIP.