Photocatalytic degradation of TiO2 via incorporating Ti3C2 MXene for methylene blue removal from water

Abstract

The photocatalytic degradation of TiO2 as the best method to solve the pollution of dye wastewater has been widely studied. However, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of TiO2 needs to be further improved even though much effort has been paid, especially under visible (Vis) light. TiO2/MXene composites were synthesized by low temperature hydrothermal reaction using TiO2 (P25) and MXene nanosheets as raw materials for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. The removal rate of MB was effectively improved by the combination of TiO2 with MXene materials. The best removal efficiency was achieved at a mass ratio (4:1) of TiO2 to MXene. The removal rate of TiO2/MXene composite materials for MB under ultraviolet light was 96.44%, which was 29.83% higher than that of pure TiO2. Under Vis light, the removal rate of MB was 8.26 times higher (40.19%) than that of pure TiO2. In addition, the degradation process of MB dye was significantly promoted under both external and visible light. Therefore, the utilization efficiency of Vis light was greatly improved, and the degradation process of MB dye was promoted. The enhancement of removal efficiency was attributed to the enhanced charge anti-recombination and high adsorption capability toward MB. This work successfully improved the rate of dye removal of TiO2 by incorporating MXene nanosheets, heralding the exciting prospects of TiO2/MXene composites in dye wastewater treatment.