BACKGROUND Numerous antibiotics are consumed and excreted to the natural environment by humans and animals, which can cause considerable water pollution. There is strong demand to find an efficient and inexpensive photocatalyst to remove antibiotics effectively from contaminated water. RESULTS Here, CuS/TiO2 nanobelts (NBs) heterojunction photocatalyst immobilized on a titanium foil substrate was constructed. The morphology, structure, composition, optical, and electrochemistry characteristics were explored by corresponding characterization methods. The CuS/TiO2 NBs exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity for the photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic enrofloxacin (ENR) under simulated solar light illumination. The outstanding photocatalytic performance of as-prepared composite is attributed to not only the improvement of visible light harvest but also the enhanced separation and transfer efficiency of photoinduced charge carriers. Results showed that the presence of some anions produced a negative effect on the photocatalytic degradation of ENR. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of ENR followed the order: no anion > Cl- = HCO3- > SO42- > NO3-. The photocatalytic degradation of ENR was restrained in the presence of HA, however, the addition of hydrogen peroxide (0.05 mmol L-1) or application of extra electric field (1.5 V) resulted in an improvement in degradation of ENR. Active species trapping experiments confirmed that the superoxide radical (center dot O-2(-)) is the major oxidant species and the holes (h(+)) and hydroxyl radical (center dot OH) are the minor active species. A possible heterojunction photocatalytic mechanism was proposed. Furthermore, CuS/TiO2 NBs heterojunction photocatalyst has excellent photocatalysis stability. CONCLUSIONS This novel visible-light responding CuS/TiO2 NBs heterojunction photocatalyst would be a promising candidate material for antibiotic elimination from water. (c) 2019 Society of Chemical Industry