Preparation of colored TiO2 flower/Ti3C2 for efficient photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

Abstract

Herein, colored TiO2 flowers grown on Ti3C2 (XTFT, where X = 250 °C, 300 °C, and 350 °C representing heating temperature) are prepared as photocatalysts for degradation of tetracycline using hydrothermal method and CVD process. TiO2 has a suitable bandgap as a photocatalyst. However, in practical applications, TiO2 cannot effectively utilize visible light and the recombination of photogenerated carriers is excessively fast. The fabrication of XTFT through defect engineering compensates for the shortcomings of pure TiO2 in photocatalytic applications, following which the bandgap of TiO2 is reduced and the TiO2 surface becomes discolored and effectively responds to visible light. Ti3C2, a promising auxiliary material in the field of photocatalysis, is used as a photocatalyst in the degradation of tetracycline via defect engineering. After forming a composite with TiO2, Ti3C2 can effectively separate TiO2 photogenerated carriers to enhance the photocatalytic performance of TiO2. The degradation rate of 50 mL 50 mg/L tetracycline by 50 mg 300TFT under visible light irradiation for 30 min is 96.3 %. Compared with pure TiO2, the photocatalytic efficiency is significantly improved, thus providing a new idea for realization of highly efficient visible photocatalysis in the field of environmental pollution in future.