Improved photoelectric performance via fabricated heterojunction g-C3N4/TiO2/HNTs loaded photocatalysts for photodegradation of ciprofloxacin

Abstract

An Intercalated heterostructural g-C3N4/TiO2/HNTs supported photocatalyst was successfully prepared via sol–gel and calcination methods. The introduction of HNTs and the g-C3N4-TiO2 heterojunction effectively enhanced the charge transfer and separation efficiency of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, which endued the g-C3N4/TiO2/HNTs hybrid material with an outstanding photoelectric performance and good stability. And an obviously enhanced photocatalytic activity was exhibited by photodegrading ciprofloxacin compared with pure TiO2. Furthermore, the main active species were detected through trapping experiment and ESR spin-trap technique with DMPO, which confirmed that the O2− and the h+ were the main active species in the photocatalytic system.