In-situ growth of TiO2@B-doped g-C3N4 core-shell nanospheres for boosts the photocatalytic detoxification of emerging pollutants with mechanistic insight

Abstract

The photocatalysts charge transportation and separation abilities are two critical factors for the efficient detoxification of organic and pharmaceutical hazards. This study demonstrated an in-situ hydrothermal synthesis method to develop unique core-shell nanospheres, TiO2@B-doped g-C3N4 (TOBCN (1-3)) Z-scheme photocatalyst. The TOBCN were characterized by using X-ray powder diffraction, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, EDX with mapping analysis, XPS and UV-DRS. In particular, under optimized ratio, synthesized TOBCN (2) photocatalyst showed an excellent detoxification ability of both toxic organic (rhodamine-B (Rh-B)) and pharmaceutical levofloxacin (LF) via synergistic interfacial effects of TiO2 core with BCN shell. At the same time, lower detoxification results were also observed when compared with TOBCN (1), TOBCN (3), pure TiO2 and BCN in terms of the efficiency and kinetic rate constant. The BET, photoluminescence, photocurrent and impedance analysis also revealed an improved surface area of active sites, efficient charge separation and subsequent charge transfer of photocatalyst, respectively. Further, the photo detoxification mechanisms, generated reactive species and stability of the photocatalyst were also elucidated and discussed in detail. This work emphasized that the prepared core (metal oxide)-shell (carbon) material has great potential as an efficient photocatalysts for detoxification of hazards and beyond.