Bimetallic Au/Ag coated on InO for the effective removal of emerging organic contaminants under natural sunlight irradiation.

Antibiotics-polluted wastewater, likely causing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), can be effectively remediated by photocatalytic degradation driven by endless solar energy. Herein, bimetallic Au/Ag is deposited on InO surface via a one-step sintering process followed by a controllable chemical reduction approach. Under natural sunlight irradiation, the optimal Au/Ag/InO (UGI-1.0) photocatalyst possesses a considerable norfloxacin (NOR) degradation rate constant of 0.013 min, which is 3.25, 1.63, and 1.86 times higher than that of InO, Ag/InO, and Au/InO respectively. The effect of many water characteristics (e.g., humic acid, water bodies, pH values, and coexisting anions) on the photodegradation performance of NOR over UGI-1.0 is investigated. Moreover, other persistent organic pollutants (ofloxacin, phenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, and rhodamine B) can also be degraded over UGI-1.0, suggesting its universal oxidation capacity. To settle the challenge of powder photocatalyst recovery, the UGI-1.0 photocatalyst is coated on a frosted glass sheet, which exhibits outstanding activity and stability for degrading NOR. The bimetallic Au/Ag deposited on InO promote its photo-absorption, and enhance its photoinduced charge separation and transfer efficiency by serving as electron accepter, leading to the boosted activity of Au/Ag/InO catalysts. Particularly, the cultivation of staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and cabbage seeds reveals the efficient toxicity reduction of NOR by photocatalytic degradation and the nontoxic characteristic of UGI-1.0 catalyst. This work unveils the feasibility of UGI-1.0 to remediate real wastewater with the assistance of solar energy.