Surface defect and rational design of TiO2−x nanobelts/ g-C3N4 nanosheets/ CdS quantum dots hierarchical structure for enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalysis

Abstract

TiO2-x/g-C3N4/CdS ternary heterojunctions are fabricated through thermal polymerization-chemical bath deposition combined with in-situ solid-state chemical reduction approach. The prepared materials are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectra, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that the ternary heterojunctions are formed successfully and CdS quantum dots (QDs) and TiO2 are anchored on surface of g-C3N4 nanosheets simultaneously. The visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation ratio of Bisphenol A and hydrogen production rate are up to 95% and ∼254.8 μmol h−1, respectively, which are several times higher than that of pristine TiO2. The excellent visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity can be ascribed to the synergistic effect of TiO2−x, g-C3N4 and CdS QDs which extend the photoresponse to visible light region and favor the spatial separation of photogenerated charge carriers.