Photocatalysis-based technologies are currently striving to find a methodology able to selectively catch, and degrade specific organic contaminants. To solve this problem, we propose molecularly imprinted ZnO nanonuts as new nanomaterial. In this work, ZnO have been imprinted, through a chemical method, with one of the most diffused analgesic-antipyretic drugs: acetaminophen (commonly called “paracetamol”), today considered as an emergent environmental pollutant. The molecularly imprinted nanonuts have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) adsorption-desorption of N₂, X-ray diffraction analyses (XRD), high-resolution transmission scanning electron microscopy (HR-S/TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Thanks to the accurate performed characterization, the interaction between ZnO and paracetamol has been elucidated. The photodegradation of paracetamol in aqueous solution has been demonstrated under UV light irradiation. The selectivity of the photodegradation process has been additionally investigated thanks to the comparison with the degradation of methyl orange (MO) and phenol, another two common water pollutants. Imprinted ZnO nanonuts have shown a great affinity and selectivity for the paracetamol, being able to degrade all the paracetamol present in the solution in 3 h. This work offers a new, economic, and easy way to prepare molecularly imprinted ZnO nanonuts with high specificity, relevant in the contexts of environmental protection.

基于光催化的技术目前正在努力寻找一种能够选择性地捕获和降解特定有机污染物的方法。为了解决这个问题，我们提出了分子印迹ZnO纳米螺母作为新型纳米材料。在这项工作中，通过化学方法将ZnO压印到最扩散的止痛解热药之一：对乙酰氨基酚（通常称为“扑热息痛”），如今被认为是一种新兴的环境污染物。分子印迹的纳米螺母已通过扫描电子显微镜（SEM），Brunauer-Emmett-Teller（BET）对N _2的吸附-脱附进行了表征，X射线衍射分析（XRD），高分辨率透射扫描电子显微镜（HR-S / TEM），傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）和X射线光电子能谱（XPS）。由于进行了准确的表征，已经阐明了ZnO与扑热息痛之间的相互作用。已证明在紫外线照射下对乙酰氨基酚在水溶液中的光降解。由于与另外两种常见的水污染物甲基橙（MO）和苯酚的降解进行了比较，因此还对光降解过程的选择性进行了研究。印迹的ZnO纳米螺母对扑热息痛显示出极大的亲和力和选择性，能够在3小时内降解溶液中存在的所有扑热息痛。这项工作提供了一种新的，经济的，