In situ fabrication of recyclable CuO@MoS2 nanosheet arrays-coated copper mesh for enhanced visible light photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline and microbial inactivation

The recycling technology of the photocatalyst powdery has hardly matured in the photocatalytic water treatment so far. In this study, a novel CuO@MoS2 core–shell nanostructure grown on the copper mesh was quickly fabricated through in situ engraving and hydrothermal deposition methods. The metallic Cu mesh is employed as the Cu source, substrate, and conductor. Also, the tight contact of CuO nanosheet arrays and MoS2 nanosheet results in a shorter migration distance of photogenerated carriers to the surface of the Cu@CuO@MoS2 mesh (CCM). Benefiting from this rational design of CCM and effective charge separation by Z-scheme charge transfer, the readily recyclable CCM exhibits superior photodegradation efficiency with 79% removal of tetracycline (10 mg/L) in 120 min, which was better than that of Cu@CuO (42%) and Cu@MoS2 (44.3%) under identical conditions. Furthermore, CCM mesh can be used for microbial inactivation, and the antibacterial efficiency reaches about 100% for Escherichia coli within 60 min visible light irradiation. Additionally, the CCM mesh photocatalyst indicates high reusability and stability without significant reduction in efficiency with nearly 69% degradation and 100% microbial inactivation after 5 cycles, respectively. This study provides a simple strategy to prepare a recyclable free-standing mesh photocatalyst for the treatment of pollutants and bacteria in wastewater.