Preferential degradation of ofloxacin on all-organic molecularly imprinted PDI/g-C3N4 photocatalyst via specific molecular recognition

Preferential degradation are urgently needed for detoxification of organic pollutants. Herein, a novel all-organic molecularly imprinted photocatalyst was first constructed by grafting molecularly imprinted perylenediimide (PDI) on graphite-phase carbon nitride (MIP-PDI/g-C3N4) using ofloxacin as template molecule. MIP-PDI/g-C3N4 exhibits higher adsorption capacity for ofloxacin than the non-imprinted counterpart (NIP-PDI/g-C3N4), and shows superior molecular recognition in the mixed solution of ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. The partition coefficient of MIP-PDI/g-C3N4 for ofloxacin is 3.19 times that for ciprofloxacin, and selection factor of MIP-PDI/g-C3N4 is 1.84 times of NIP-PDI/g-C3N4, suggesting good molecular recognition of MIP-PDI/g-C3N4. The excellent molecular recognition endowed MIP-PDI/g-C3N4 with preferential degradation performance, leading to effective mineralization and detoxification of ofloxacin solution. Most importantly, the preferential degradation mechanism based on molecular recognition was proposed.