Surface plasmon resonance effects of Ti3C2 MXene for degradation of antibiotics under full spectrum

The ML-(Ti2+ 1  XTi3+ X )3C2VXAl (ML-Ti3C2) crystal was exfoliated into the crystal Ti3C2 MXene with coexistence of (Ti2+ 1  XTi3+ X )3C2VXAl MXene and Ti2CVXAl MXene by HF etching Ti3AlC2 and ultrasonic crushing in water. Ti3C2 MXene exhibits the surface plasmon effects of transverse and longitudinal surface plasmon resonance due to its surface holes and internal bound electrons. When excited by the simulated sunlight, the high energy hot holes on the surface of plasma Ti3C2 MXene crystal directly oxidize the antibiotics and the organic pollutants. The electrons bound in the crystal lag behind the excitation of holes and migrate to the surface to further degradation. After 150 min of near infrared light irradiation, the degradation rates of tetracycline (TC) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) by Ti3C2 MXene are 78.91% and 99.26%, respectively. They are 1.35/1.00 and 1.53/3.11 times of ML-Ti3C2 and (001)TiO2/Ti3C2. This study indicates that Ti3C2 MXene has significant degradation effects on antibiotics in the full spectral range. Our work intends to provide a valuable reference for the design of the MXene full spectral photocatalyst.