Study on the catalytic activities of g-C₃N₄@TiO₂ hollow microspheres under UV–visible light

Abstract

TiO₂ and g-C₃N₄ samples were successfully prepared by simple one-step hydrothermal method and calcination method, respectively. Then, g-C₃N₄@TiO₂ hollow microspheres were prepared by simple water bath evaporation method. This work mainly studies the photocatalytic performance of a series of g-C₃N₄ composite TiO₂ hollow microspheres with different contents. In the experiment, the amount of g-C₃N₄ was adjusted to obtain the highest photocatalytic activity. Therefore, finding the most suitable amount of g-C₃N₄ has become the main task of this work. By degrading the catalytic effect of Rhodamine B (RhB) solution, the photocatalytic performance of a series of samples was compared. Finally, it was discovered that when the weight ratio of g-C₃N₄ to TiO₂ was 15%, the photocatalytic effect of the sample prepared in this way was the best and the sample was recorded as 15% g-C₃N₄@TiO₂ composite. The heterostructure of TiO₂ and g-C₃N₄ was constructed through the synergistic effect, achieving excellent photocatalytic performance to a certain extent. Therefore, the degradation rate of 15% g-C₃N₄@TiO₂ composite material is 90.8% within 90 min of UV–visible light irradiation. We further used SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR spectroscopy, DRS, XPS and other test methods to characterize the composition, morphology and chemical properties of the composite material.