Abstract
Co-doped NiTiO3/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts were prepared by a modified Pechini method to improve their photocatalytic activity toward methylene blue photodegradation under visible light irradiation. The combination of Co-doped NiTiO3 and g-C3N4 and Co-doping into the NiTiO3 lattice synergistically enhanced the photocatalytic performance of the composite photocatalysts. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results for the Co-doped NiTiO3/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts confirmed Ti-N linkages between the Co-doped NiTiO3 and g-C3N4. In addition, characteristic X-ray diffraction peaks for the NiTiO3 lattice structure clearly indicated substitution of Co into the NiTiO3 lattice structure. The composite structure and Co-doping of the C-x composite photocatalysts (x wt % Co-doped NiTiO3/g-C3N4) not only decreased the emission intensity of the photoluminescence spectra but also the semicircle radius of the Nyquist plot in electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, giving the highest kapp value (7.15 × 10−3 min−1) for the C-1 composite photocatalyst.
Highlights
Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3 N4 ) is a metal-free polymeric semiconductor having high thermal and chemical stability with good electronic and optical properties [1,2]
Composite materials prepared from g-C3 N4 have been widely used for photocatalysis under visible light irradiation owing to their efficient charge separation of photo-excited electron-hole pairs and a narrow band gap [4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14]
The samples denoted as NiTiO3 oxides (N-x), C, and C-x in Table 1 represent pure or Co-doped NiTiO3, pure g-C3 N4, and composites of g-C3 N4 and N-x, respectively
Summary
Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3 N4 ) is a metal-free polymeric semiconductor having high thermal and chemical stability with good electronic and optical properties [1,2]. Composite materials prepared from g-C3 N4 have been widely used for photocatalysis under visible light irradiation owing to their efficient charge separation of photo-excited electron-hole pairs and a narrow band gap [4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14] Metal oxide photocatalysts, such as TiO2 and ZnO, have been individually studied and as inorganic components in g-C3 N4 composite photocatalysts [4,6,7,8,9]. The Co-doped NiTiO3 /g-C3 N4 composite photocatalysts had a higher photocatalytic activity than NiTiO3 /g-C3 N4 composite or Co-doped NiTiO3 photocatalysts, which we attribute to the high charge separation efficiency of Co-doped NiTiO3 /g-C3 N4 composite photocatalyst
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
