High surface area Ag-TiO2 nanotubes for solar/visible-light photocatalytic degradation of ceftiofur sodium

•Large surface area TiO2 nanotubes have been synthesized and modified with Ag NPs.•Ag-TiO2 NTs show very good charge separation due to 1D charge delocalization.•They exhibit excellent photocatalytic degradation of CFS under UV–vis light.•It photocatalytically activates HSO5− to produce OH and SO4− simultaneously.•Ag-TiO2 NTs retain their photocatalytic activity at least up to 4 cycles. Titanium dioxide nanotubes (TiO2 NTs) with very high surface area (469m2/g) have been synthesized through a simple hydrothermal method and their surface has been modified using silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). The Ag NPs deposited TiO2 NTs (Ag-TiO2 NTs) show an extended optical response from UV to visible region coupled with a surface plasmon resonance band and thus can be utilized as a plasmonic photocatalyst. The photoluminescence intensity of TiO2 NTs is lower than that of TiO2 nanoparticles due to the delocalization of photogenerated electrons along the one dimensional nanotubes which reduces the rate of charge recombination. The Langmuir adsorption constant of Ag-TiO2 NTs (for ceftiofur sodium adsorption) is twice that of P25 TiO2. The Ag-TiO2 NTs exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of ceftiofur sodium (CFS) due to high surface area and mesoporosity of TiO2 NTs. The addition of peroxomonosulfate in the photocatalytic system greatly amplifies the CFS degradation owing to the simultaneous generation of both OH and SO4−. The catalyst retains its photocatalytic activity at least up to four consecutive cycles.