Highly selective photocatalytic degradation of p-nitrophenol facilitated by photo-sensitive molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles and TiO2 nanoparticles

Photocatalytic degradation is a promising way for removing industrial pollutants from wastewater. However, selective enrichment and removal of target pollutants especially at ultralow concentrations are extremely challenging. Herein, a highly selective and efficient strategy for photocatalytic degradation of an organic pollutant, p-nitrophenol (PNP), is developed based on photosensitive molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles and TiO2 photocatalyst functionalized fiberglass cloth (FGC). The negatively charged p-nitrophenol@photosensitive random copolymer nanoparticles (PNP@PAVE NPs) and the positively charged TiO2 NPs were used as building blocks to successively deposit on the surface of FGC, followed by the removal of the PNP through UV radiation, leading to the formation of PNP-MIP NP and TiO2 NP decorated FGC (TiO2/PNP-MIP NPs/FGC) with high selectivity and photocatalytic activity. As a result, TiO2/PNP-MIP NPs/FGC exhibited a removal rate of 98.7% and excellent selectivity for PNP. This work provides a valuable approach for realizing highly selective degradation of specific pollutants in complex pollutant mixtures in a real environment. © 2025 The Royal Society of Chemistry.