TY - JOUR AU - Li, Wenting AU - Zhang, Hanjie AU - Wang, Haoying AU - Su, Hang AU - Zhu, Xiaolin AU - Song, Xingzhen AU - Xu, Xiaoming AU - Zhu, Yongfa PY - 2026 TI - Facilitated charge separation in non-covalent NiO–UPDI donor–acceptor composite for efficient photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin JO - Nano Research SN - 1998-0124 SP - 94908261 VL - 19 IS - 5 AB - Efficient charge separation remains a central challenge in achieving the deep mineralization of organic pollutants via photocatalysis. Herein, we report a nickel oxide isintegrated with urea-perylene diimide (NiO–UPDI) photocatalyst with a donor–acceptor (D–A) structure, constructed through solvothermal precipitation, in which NiO is integrated with UPDI via non-covalent coordination. Under visible-light irradiation, the optimized NiO–UPDI (20 wt.%) achieves a ciprofloxacin degradation rate of 0.553 h−1, exceeding those of UPDI and bulk g-C3N4 by factors of 6.21 and 7.18, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic performance originates from the NiO-induced D–A configuration, which creates an unsymmetric electron distribution that strengthens intermolecular dipoles, yielding a 5.5-fold higher internal electric field and markedly improved charge separation. Photogenerated electrons (e−) migrate from NiO to UPDI, while photogenerated holes (h+) transfer to the catalyst surface, enabling synergistic oxidation and degradation. This study provides fundamental insights into the rational design of non-covalent D–A photocatalysts for achieving superior photocatalytic performance through efficient charge separation. UR - https://doi.org/10.26599/NR.2025.94908261 DO - 10.26599/NR.2025.94908261