Facile synthesis of TiO2-carbon composite doped nitrogen for efficient photodegradation of noxious methylene blue dye

Abstract

The present work shows that the degrading ability of TiO2 is significantly improved when exposed to light, particularly in relation to the organic dye methylene blue (MB), following the introduction of a carbon framework through sol-hydrothermal synthesis approach. The newly prepared TiO2-C@N composite had the ability to function as both an adsorbent and a photocatalyst to eliminate MB from contaminated wastewater. The outcomes show the removal efficiency of MB amounts to 99.87% upon the application of UV radiation, which is much higher than the rate achieved under dark conditions (28.9%). As ascertained by the kinetic study, the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV light through photocatalysis using the TiO2-C@N photocatalyst conformed to the widely recognized pseudo-first order (PFO) model. TiO2-C@N photocatalyst showed outstanding reliability and reusability, maintaining consistent degradation efficiency over five consecutive cycles without any obvious decline. The materials were characterized by XRD, XPS, FE-SEM, EDS, and N2 adsorption-desorption measurements. Nanometer-sized particles, a unique surface dominance, high surface area, large pore volume ratios, low band gap, high oxygen vacancies, increased pollution absorptivity, and reduced electron-hole pair recombination characterize the monolithic TiO2-C@N photocatalyst over TiO2. These unique features render TiO2-C@N a promising catalyst in effectively breaking down noxious MB organic pollutants through photodegradation.