Targeted degradation of refractory organic pollutants in wastewater based on molecularly imprinted catalytic materials: Adsorption process and degradation mechanism

•MIL100@MIP has achieved preferential targeted degradation of the refractory organics.•The degradation efficiency of SMX was significantly improved.•The target adsorption capacity of the imprinted catalysts was optimized by constructing different recognition sites.•Theoretical calculations were used to elucidate the process of targeted adsorption.•The mechanism of targeted degradation of SMX by MIL100@MIP was proposed.