Constructing Z-scheme g-C3N4/TiO2 heterostructure for promoting degradation of the hazardous dye pollutants

The use of dyes and segments has increased widely in recent years, but it poses a serious health risk to eco-systems. In this work, TiO2 and two-dimensional g-C3N4 nanosheets (g-CN) were fabricated through co -precipitation and thermal polymerization technique, respectively. The g-CN-TiO2 photocatalyst (1: 3, 2: 2, 3: 1) in various weight percentages was prepared using a simple impregnation process. The photocatalytic behaviour of the g-CN, TiO2 NPs, and different weight percentages of g-CN-TiO2 photocatalyst was evaluated against methylene blue (MB) dye under UV-visible light illumination. Compared to pristine and other weight percentages of the g-CN-TiO2 nanocomposite, the optimized g-CN-TiO2 nanocomposite (3:1) showed promoted performance against MB dye. The enriched catalytic efficiency can be accredited to the low amount of TiO2 nanoparticles deposited on gCN nanosheets, possibly due to the boosted transport properties of the electron-hole pairs. The enriched photocatalytic behaviour can be attributed to the development of the Z-scheme system be-tween TiO2 and g-CN. The current study is an outstanding demonstration of the development of maximum catalytic efficiency for destroying hazardous chemical dyes.

Automated summary

In recent years, the use of dyes and nanoparticles has increased significantly, posing a serious health risk to ecosystems. This study fabricated TiO2 and g-C3N4 nanosheets through co-precipitation and thermal polymerization techniques, respectively. The g-CN-TiO2 nanocomposite with different weight percentages exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performance against methylene blue (MB) dye under UV-visible light illumination. The optimized g-CN-TiO2 nanocomposite (3:1) showed the highest catalytic efficiency due to the low amount of TiO2 nanoparticles deposited on g-CN nanosheets and the development of a Z-scheme system between TiO2 and g-CN.