Synergistic effect of iodine doped TiO2 nanoparticle/g-C3N4 nanosheets with upgraded visible-light-sensitive performance toward highly efficient and selective photocatalytic oxidation of aromatic alcohols under blue LED irradiation

Abstract

Selective oxidation of alcohols via photocatalytic processes by O2 molecules as a green oxidant and visible light has a great potential to dissolve the environmental crisis and worldwide energy. Herein, I-TiO2 Nanoparticle/g-C3N4 Nanosheets (I-TiO2/CNNSs) heterostructured composite with different contents of graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets has been successfully prepared via a facile and simple procedure. The structure of the I-TiO2/CNNSs nanocomposite was analyzed by FT-IR, XRD, EDX, BET, TGA, FESEM, DRS, and PL techniques. The resultant nanocomposite (I-TiO2/(20 wt%)CNNSs) exhibits superior photocatalytic efficiency than its pristine g-C3N4 and iodine doped TiO2 for the oxidation of benzyl alcohols under the illumination of visible light (λ ≥ 400 nm). Introduction of the I-TiO2 on the surface of CNNSs can improve the absorption ability in the visible region and separation efficiency of charge carriers during the photocatalytic oxidation. Hence, these obtained results show that the I-TiO2/(20 wt%)CNNSs nanocomposite possess high photocatalytic performance and excellent reusability in oxidation reactions and other sustainable energy-related applications.