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. 2023 Mar 20;8(12):11397-11405.
doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c00150. eCollection 2023 Mar 28.

Potassium Poly(heptazine imide) Coupled with Ti3C2 MXene-Derived TiO2 as a Composite Photocatalyst for Efficient Pollutant Degradation

Binbin Chen  1 , Weiwei Lu  1 , Peng Xu  1 , Kaisheng Yao  1
Affiliations

Potassium Poly(heptazine imide) Coupled with Ti3C2 MXene-Derived TiO2 as a Composite Photocatalyst for Efficient Pollutant Degradation

Binbin Chen et al. ACS Omega. .

Abstract

The photocatalytic degradation of pollutants is an effective and sustainable way to solve environmental problems, and the key is to develop an efficient, low-cost, and stable photocatalyst. Polymeric potassium poly(heptazine imide) (K-PHI), as a new member of the carbon nitride family, is a promising candidate but is characterized by a high charge recombination rate. To solve this problem, K-PHI was in-situ composited with MXene Ti3C2-derived TiO2 to construct a type-II heterojunction. The morphology and structure of composite K-PHI/TiO2 photocatalysts were characterized via different technologies, including TEM, XRD, FT-IR, XPS, and UV-vis reflectance spectra. Robust heterostructures and tight interactions between the two components of the composite were verified. Furthermore, the K-PHI/TiO2 photocatalyst showed excellent activity for Rhodamine 6G removal under visible light illumination. When the weight percent of K-PHI in the original mixture of K-PHI and Ti3C2 was set to 10%, the prepared K-PHI/TiO2 composite photocatalyst shows the highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency as high as 96.3%. The electron paramagnetic resonance characterization indicated that the·OH radical is the active species accounting for the degradation of Rhodamine 6G.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
TEM images of K-PHI (a) and MXene (b) samples. TEM (c), high-resolution TEM, (d) and elemental mapping (e) of Ti, K, and N for the K-PHI/TiO2 photocatalyst.
Scheme 1
Scheme 1. Preparation Process of the K-PHI/TiO2 Composite Samples
Figure 2
Figure 2
XRD patterns (a) and FTIR spectra (b) of K-PHI, TiO2, and K-PHI/TiO2 photocatalysts.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) Full survey spectrum of K-PHI/TiO2; (b) C 1s spectra of K-PHI and K-PHI/TiO2 photocatalysts; (c) N 1s spectra of K-PHI and K-PHI/TiO2 photocatalysts; (d) Ti 2p spectra of TiO2 and K-PHI/TiO2 photocatalysts.
Figure 4
Figure 4
UV–vis diffused reflectance spectra of K-PHI and TiO2(a); (αhν)2 vs hν Tauc plots of K-PHI (b) and TiO2(c); valence band XPS spectra of K-PHI and TiO2 (d).
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Band structure of the K-PHI/TiO2 composite photocatalyst; (b) PL spectra of K-PHI and K-PHI/TiO2 photocatalysts.
Figure 6
Figure 6
(a) Photocatalytic degradation curves of K-PHI/TiO2 samples under visible light (λ > 420 nm) illumination. For control, the curves of pure K-PHI and TiO2 are also included; (b) Reusability of the 10-K-PHI/TiO2 composite photocatalyst for degradation of Rhodamine 6G.
Figure 7
Figure 7
(a) Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra obtained in the presence of K-PHI, TiO2, and K-PHI/TiO2 under light illumination; (b) Degradation results when TBA was used as the trapping agent.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Proposed mechanism of the K-PHI/TiO2 composite for the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine 6G.
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