@article{Li2026, 
author = {Wenting Li and Hanjie Zhang and Haoying Wang and Hang Su and Xiaolin Zhu and Xingzhen Song and Xiaoming Xu and Yongfa Zhu},
title = {Facilitated charge separation in non-covalent NiO–UPDI donor–acceptor composite for efficient photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin},
year = {2026},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {19},
number = {5},
pages = {94908261},
keywords = {photocatalytic degradation, charge separation, donor–acceptor system, interfacial electric field},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NR.2025.94908261},
doi = {10.26599/NR.2025.94908261},
abstract = {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.}
}