Anatase quantum dots decorated silica/carbon lamellas for removal of antipsychotic drugs via adsorption-photocatalysis and toxicity evaluation.

In this work, discrete quantum dots of crystallized anatase TiO2 are successfully anchored on carbon nanosheets containing amorphous SiO2 via templated self-assembly and pyrolysis routes. The novel hybrid photocatalyst of TiO2/C/SiO2 exhibits well coupled adsorption and visible light photocatalysis on chlorpromazine (CPZ) and the rate constants are 0.0223 and 0.0198 min-1, respectively. The direct photocatalytic degradation of CPZ under static conditions reaches 91.1% within 3 h while a removal rate of 31.4% for CPZ could be retained under dynamic flow conditions, and the improved performance could be attributed to enhanced adsorption via SiO2/C and highly exposure of TiO2 QDs surface. Based on the trapping experiments, ESR, LC-MS, and toxicity evaluation, O2- free radicals are identified as main reactive species for CPZ degradation along three possible pathways, with reduced toxicities for its intermediates. The cell viability tests of photocatalytic-degraded solutions and the catalyst exhibit negligible toxicities for both intermediates and the material, suggesting the novel composite of TiO2/C/SiO2 as an environmental friendly photocatalyst for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.