The persistence of fluoroquinolone antibiotics like OFL in aquatic environments poses a significant ecological and public health risk due to their poor biodegradability and potential to induce antibiotic resistance. This study reports the fabrication of free-standing, flexible nanofibrous films via electrospinning, incorporating optimal BGFZ9 nanoparticles into a P(VDF-HFP) matrix (denoted as P(VDF-HFP)@BGFZ9). Comprehensive characterization reveals that the BGFZ9 nanoparticles act as effective heterogeneous nucleating agents, significantly promoting the formation of piezoelectric β-phase in P(VDF-HFP) and enhancing the ferroelectric polarization of the composite through interfacial coupling. Under ultrasonic excitation, the composite film exhibits remarkable piezocatalytic performance for OFL degradation, following pseudo-first-order kinetics. The film with an optimal 10% BGFZ9 loading achieves a reaction rate constant of 0.684 min–1·g–1 under piezocatalysis, which is approximately 1.22 times higher than that of the pure polymer film. A synergistic piezophotocatalytic effect is observed under combined ultrasonic and light irradiation, leading to an OFL removal efficiency of 85.71% within 3 h and a further increased rate constant of 1.043 min–1·g–1. Radical scavenger experiments and EPR spectroscopy identify superoxide radicals •O2– and h+ as the primary reactive species responsible for the degradation. The composite film demonstrates excellent cycling stability, retaining 94.4% of its initial activity after five consecutive runs, alongside robust structural integrity. This work provides a novel strategy for developing efficient, stable, and easily recyclable flexible piezocatalytic materials for antibiotic wastewater remediation.
Liu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.