In situ growth of g-C3N4 on TiO2 nanotube arrays: construction of heterostructures for improved photocatalysis properties

n this work, we successfully constructed g-C3N4/TNTs heterostructures via in situ growth of g-C3N4on thesurface of TiO2nanotube arrays (TNTs). Varying concentrations of urea precursor were adopted to prepare thebinary composites for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB). Advanced microscopic a...

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Main Authors: Lan, Ching Sim, Kai, Sheng Koh, Kah, Hon Leong, Yik, Heng Chin, Azrina, Abd Aziz, Saravanan, Pichiah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/27663/7/In%20situ%20growth%20of%20g-C3N4%20on%20TiO21.pdf
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author Lan, Ching Sim
Kai, Sheng Koh
Kah, Hon Leong
Yik, Heng Chin
Azrina, Abd Aziz
Saravanan, Pichiah
author_facet Lan, Ching Sim
Kai, Sheng Koh
Kah, Hon Leong
Yik, Heng Chin
Azrina, Abd Aziz
Saravanan, Pichiah
author_sort Lan, Ching Sim
collection UMP
description n this work, we successfully constructed g-C3N4/TNTs heterostructures via in situ growth of g-C3N4on thesurface of TiO2nanotube arrays (TNTs). Varying concentrations of urea precursor were adopted to prepare thebinary composites for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB). Advanced microscopic and spectroscopicapproaches such as FESEM, PL-Raman, UV–vis DRS, XRD and etc examined the topography, structural andoptical properties attributed to the presence of g-C3N4in the heterostructures. The morphological analysisshowed that the in-situ growth of g-C3N4onto the surface of TNTs significantly increased the wall thickness ofthe nanotubes. The least band energy of 1.8 eV was obtained by g-C3N4/TNTs (1.5 g) due to the formation of animpurity energy level induced by the presence of g-C3N4. The electron transfer between the heterojunction of g-C3N4and TNTs was revealed by the quenching of PL emission intensity. When the urea content was optimized at1.0 g, the build-in electricfield at the interface of g-C3N4/TNTs stimulated the electrons transfer and prolongedlifetime of carriers, thus enhancing the degradation efficiency by 1.25 times higher than that of pure TNTs.However, the aggregation of g-C3N4as a result of increasing urea content (1.5–2.0 g) reduced the interfacialadhesion at the heterojunction between the g-C3N4and TNTs, thus dominating its excellent optical and chargeseparation properties and diminishing the degradation efficiency of MB.
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spelling UMPir276632020-02-13T02:39:16Z http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/27663/ In situ growth of g-C3N4 on TiO2 nanotube arrays: construction of heterostructures for improved photocatalysis properties Lan, Ching Sim Kai, Sheng Koh Kah, Hon Leong Yik, Heng Chin Azrina, Abd Aziz Saravanan, Pichiah TP Chemical technology n this work, we successfully constructed g-C3N4/TNTs heterostructures via in situ growth of g-C3N4on thesurface of TiO2nanotube arrays (TNTs). Varying concentrations of urea precursor were adopted to prepare thebinary composites for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB). Advanced microscopic and spectroscopicapproaches such as FESEM, PL-Raman, UV–vis DRS, XRD and etc examined the topography, structural andoptical properties attributed to the presence of g-C3N4in the heterostructures. The morphological analysisshowed that the in-situ growth of g-C3N4onto the surface of TNTs significantly increased the wall thickness ofthe nanotubes. The least band energy of 1.8 eV was obtained by g-C3N4/TNTs (1.5 g) due to the formation of animpurity energy level induced by the presence of g-C3N4. The electron transfer between the heterojunction of g-C3N4and TNTs was revealed by the quenching of PL emission intensity. When the urea content was optimized at1.0 g, the build-in electricfield at the interface of g-C3N4/TNTs stimulated the electrons transfer and prolongedlifetime of carriers, thus enhancing the degradation efficiency by 1.25 times higher than that of pure TNTs.However, the aggregation of g-C3N4as a result of increasing urea content (1.5–2.0 g) reduced the interfacialadhesion at the heterojunction between the g-C3N4and TNTs, thus dominating its excellent optical and chargeseparation properties and diminishing the degradation efficiency of MB. Elsevier Ltd 2020 Article PeerReviewed pdf en http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/27663/7/In%20situ%20growth%20of%20g-C3N4%20on%20TiO21.pdf Lan, Ching Sim and Kai, Sheng Koh and Kah, Hon Leong and Yik, Heng Chin and Azrina, Abd Aziz and Saravanan, Pichiah (2020) In situ growth of g-C3N4 on TiO2 nanotube arrays: construction of heterostructures for improved photocatalysis properties. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 8 (1). pp. 1-7. ISSN 2213-3437. (Published) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2019.103611 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2019.103611
spellingShingle TP Chemical technology
Lan, Ching Sim
Kai, Sheng Koh
Kah, Hon Leong
Yik, Heng Chin
Azrina, Abd Aziz
Saravanan, Pichiah
In situ growth of g-C3N4 on TiO2 nanotube arrays: construction of heterostructures for improved photocatalysis properties
title In situ growth of g-C3N4 on TiO2 nanotube arrays: construction of heterostructures for improved photocatalysis properties
title_full In situ growth of g-C3N4 on TiO2 nanotube arrays: construction of heterostructures for improved photocatalysis properties
title_fullStr In situ growth of g-C3N4 on TiO2 nanotube arrays: construction of heterostructures for improved photocatalysis properties
title_full_unstemmed In situ growth of g-C3N4 on TiO2 nanotube arrays: construction of heterostructures for improved photocatalysis properties
title_short In situ growth of g-C3N4 on TiO2 nanotube arrays: construction of heterostructures for improved photocatalysis properties
title_sort in situ growth of g c3n4 on tio2 nanotube arrays construction of heterostructures for improved photocatalysis properties
topic TP Chemical technology
url http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/27663/7/In%20situ%20growth%20of%20g-C3N4%20on%20TiO21.pdf
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