Fabrication of novel CuFe2O4/MXene hierarchical heterostructures for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of sulfonamides under visible light

[Display omitted] •The CuFe2O4/MXene composites were fabricated by a simple sol-hydrothermal method.•The photocatalytic degradation mechanism of SMZwas investigated by HPLC-MS spectra.•The mechanism for enhanced activity is elucidated based on TRPL and TPV spectra. The overuse of sulfonamides, causing serious pollution of water bodies, has drawn great attention from society. To address these problems, a novel CuFe2O4/MXene (CFO/Ti3C2) heterojunction photocatalyst was used to photodegrade the antibiotic sulfamethazine (SMZ, a typical pollutant) under visible light, and the synergy and coupling function of the two components in the heterojunction system were analyzed. With the aid of time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) and transient surface photovoltage (TPV) spectra, the carrier lifetimes and kinetic behaviors were studied, revealing that the lifetime of photoinduced carriers was prolonged by loading Ti3C2, inhibiting the reorganization of photogenerated electron holes. More importantly, the organic intermediates and mineralization degree were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-mass spectrometry (MS) and total organic carbon (TOC) techniques. The results show that the breaking of SN bonds, the oxidation of aniline and deamination were dominated by the attack of •OH. This work shows a new model for the degradation mechanism of SMZ over CFO/MXene heterostructures.