Construction of graphitic carbon nitride coupled TiO2 heterostructured composite for enhanced photocatalytic performance towards organic pollutant degradation

The g-C3N4/TiO2 heterostructure photocatalysts (PCs) were successfully synthesized in a facile way. Powder XRD, FT-IR, XPS, SEM, HR-TEM, and UV–Vis spectra were used for structural, morphological, and optical characterization. The photocatalytic action of the as-synthesized GTO2 catalyst samples was examined via methylene blue (MB) dye and the degradation efficiency under light exposure was 80.8 % in 160 min. The outcomes exhibited that the photocatalytic MB dye degradation confirmed pseudo-first-order kinetic fitting, and the kinetic constant of GTO2 was 5.04 folds higher than those of GCN and 3.21 folds higher than those of TiO2, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of GTO2 PCs was due to the heterostructure formation on the TiO2/g-C3N4 interface. Formation of efficient GTO2 heterostructure PCs resulted in the suppression of photo-produced electron–hole (e-/h+) pair recombination rate and the increase of its charge separation respectively. The superoxide radical anions (•O2–) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH) played a prominent role in the photocatalytic MB dye degradation process by efficient GTO2 PCs.