The study on the structural characteristics and photocatalytic properties of TNTs/TiO2, 5%gC3N4-TNTs/TiO2 nanorods materials compared with Degussa P25

Abstract

The Na₂TiO₃/TiO₂ and 5%gC₃N₄-Na₂TiO₃/TiO₂ (TNTs/TiO₂ and 5%gC₃N₄-TNTs/TiO₂) were synthesized from the Degussa P25 (TiO₂) commercial material. The material’s structural properties were investigated by methods such as XRD, SEM, EDX and UV-vis spectra. Their photocatalytic properties have also been investigated for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under sunlight irradiation. The TNTs/TiO₂ and 5%gC₃N₄-TNTs/TiO₂ materials were shown to have a crystalline grain shape in the form of nanorods with bar length ~5-10 µm and bar width ~80-100 nm. The commercial Degussa P25 has a spherical crystalline grain shape with a size of 40-60 nm used as a comparison sample. The average crystal size of the 5%gC₃N₄-TNTs/TiO₂ sample (d_TiO2anata= 5.02 nm; d_TNTs= 14.53 nm) was smaller than that of the TNTs/TiO₂ undoped samples. The gap band energy of 5%gC₃N₄-TNTs/TiO₂ sample (Eg= 3.12 eV) was also reduced smaller than that of TNTs/TiO₂ sample (Eg= 3.21 eV). The photocatalytic efficiency of 5%gC₃N₄-TNTs/TiO₂ sample for degradate methylene blue (MB) dye under sunlight irradiation was the highest (78.8%) compared with the TNTs/TiO₂ undoped sample and the commercial Degussa P25 sample (42.6% and 28%, respectively).