TiO<sub>2</sub> Nanowires with Doped g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanoparticles for Enhanced H<sub>2</sub> Production and Photodegradation of Pollutants

With the rapid consumption of fossil fuels, along with the ever-increasing environmental pollution, it is becoming a top priority to explore efficient photocatalysts for the production of renewable hydrogen and degradation of pollutants. Here, we fabricated a composite of g-C<sub>3</sub>...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Liushan Jiang, Fanshan Zeng, Rong Zhong, Yu Xie, Jianli Wang, Hao Ye, Yun Ling, Ruobin Guo, Jinsheng Zhao, Shiqian Li, Yuying Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
Series:Nanomaterials
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/1/254
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Summary:With the rapid consumption of fossil fuels, along with the ever-increasing environmental pollution, it is becoming a top priority to explore efficient photocatalysts for the production of renewable hydrogen and degradation of pollutants. Here, we fabricated a composite of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub> via an in situ growth method under the conditions of high-temperature calcination. In this method, TiO<sub>2</sub> nanowires with a large specific surface area could provide enough space for loading more g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles to obtain C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub> composites. Of note, the g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub> composite could effectively photocatalyze both the degradation of several pollutants and production of hydrogen, both of which are essential for environmental governance. Combining multiple characterizations and experiments, we found that the heterojunction constructed by the TiO<sub>2</sub> and g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> could increase the photocatalytic ability of materials by prompting the separation of photogenerated carriers. Furthermore, the photocatalytic mechanism of the g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub> composite was also clarified in detail.
ISSN:2079-4991