Posted by Photocatalytic degradation provides a promising sustainable solution for water purification, but its effectiveness is often limited by the low utilization efficiency of photogenerated reactive oxygen species (ROS). Although organic coatings such as fluorinated porous cyclodextrin polymers can adsorb target pollutants near the photocatalyst surfaces to enhance ROS efficiency and resist ROS attack, their hydrophobicity may limit the adsorption and degradation of hydrophilic organic pollutants. Here, a novel core-shell photocatalyst (His-CDP-TiO2) is reported. It was prepared by a simple synthesis process that encapsulates TiO2 nanoparticles in a high-swelling cyclodextrin polymer (His-CDP). This design utilizes the exceptional broad-spectrum pollutant enrichment ability of His-CDP hydrophilic-hydrophobic dual-functional network to rapidly concentrate pollutants near catalytic TiO2 core sites. This localized enhancement significantly improves the interfacial ROS utilization efficiency and promotes efficient “capture-and-degradation” process. Therefore, His-CDP-TiO2 exhibits significantly accelerated photodegradation kinetics towards hydrophilic/hydrophobic organic pollutants. For example, it degraded over 99 % of bisphenol A (BPA) within 180 min, with a degradation rate constant (0.025 min−1) 4.4 times higher than unmodified TiO2. The photodegradation pathway of BPA was elucidated by identifying and quantifying the oxidation intermediates generated by His-CDP-TiO2.
Kai Zhang, Zhaoxin Zhang, Ningning Cao, Linji Li, Ningyan Peng, Yongli Shi, Guofei Dai, Xiaojin Zhang (2026)
Sustainable capture and photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants by high-swelling cyclodextrin polymer loaded with TiO2 nanoparticles. Sustainable Materials and Technologies 47, e01831. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susmat.2025.e01831
