Light-induced degradation of organic pollutants under high salinity conditions using titanium dioxide/ferrocene polymer nanocomposites as photocatalyst and H₂O₂ activator simultaneously

In this study, TiO2 nanocomposites immobilized with a ferrocene-containing polymer were facilely prepared according to mussel-inspired biomimetic strategy. The nanocomposites were used as heterogeneous catalysts for photocatalytic oxidation and photo-Fenton-like reactions simultaneously. Notably, mimetic wastewaters containing different organic pollutants could be treated via these synergistic photoreactions in high salinity conditions. A series of organic pollutants such as tetracyclines, bisphenol A, bisphenol S, and rhodamine B could be degraded within 30 minutes in the presence of high-concentration inorganic salts (500 mmol L-1 NaCl or NaNO3). It was possible to recycle the nanocomposites after the reactions for reuse, and the degradation efficiency was maintained stable in repeated consecutive experiments.