Solar water disinfection facilitated by photocatalyst has been considered a viable point-of-use (POU) method for mitigating antibiotic resistance contaminations at the household or community levels. Here, density functional theory calculations are used to guide the fabrication of a carrier confinement domains (CCD)-decorated graphitic carbon nitride (CN) photocatalyst. The CCD integration effectively disrupts the electron distribution symmetry of CN, amplifies its local electron density, and facilitates the formation of a long-range ordered structure, thereby enhancing charge separation efficiency. Importantly, the CCD directs the migration of photogenerated carriers to specific regions upon light illumination, effectively minimizing their spatial proximity. As a result, the overall reactive oxygen species level of the photocatalytic system is markedly elevated, with a twelvefold increase in H2O2 concentration, alongside a significant rise in •O2 - and •OH steady-state concentrations. Remarkably, a record-high disinfection efficiency is attained, successfully inactivating 7 log of antibiotic-resistant bacteria within 30 min. Additionally, the photocatalyst can be integrated into a continuous-flow fixed-bed reactor, facilitating clean water production for up to 60 h at a rate of 121 L m-2 day-1, highlighting its significant potential for POU applications.
Keywords: antibiotic resistance removal; carrier confinement domains; graphitic carbon nitride; photocatalysis.
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