One-pot synthesis of CuBi bimetallic alloy nanosheets-supported functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes as efficient photocatalyst for oxidation of fluoroquinolones

With a broader objective to replace Au, Pt, and Ag-based photocatalysis, a new low-cost bimetallic nanoalloy of CuBi has been fabricated in situ on carboxylated MWCNTs by a facile reduction route. The physicochemical properties of CuBi-nanoalloy/MWCNTs have been thoroughly investigated through the characterization techniques, i.e. XRD, XPS, FE-SEM, TEM, UV − vis diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. FE-SEM and TEM study confirm the growth of ultrathin 2D nanosheets of CuBi-alloy, which were uniformly distributed on the CNTs bundles. The visible light-driven photocatalytic removal of fluoroquinolone-type antibiotics (Ciprofloxacin and Ofloxacin) was dramatically enhanced on the CuBi-modified nanotubes compared with pure CNTs. The synergistic effects of SPR effect of Cu, the intimate contact between the CuBi alloy and the nanotubes, the boosting of hot electron flux at the Schottky junction, and the higher oxidative activity lead to high photocatalytic oxidation rate of the CuBi-nanoalloy/MWCNTs.