Vis-active TiO2 – g-C3N4 photocatalytic coatings for advanced wastewater treatment and self-cleaning applications

Abstract

Nowadays, the photocatalysts developed for the advanced wastewater treatment and self-cleaning applications are investigated targeting an up-scaled implementation. This paper reports on Vis-active TiO2 – g-C3N4 composite thin films obtained in-situ using a precursor system deposited by the low-cost spray pyrolysis deposition technique followed by annealing. The films were characterized in terms of crystallinity, morphology, oughness, wettability and transmittance and the results are correlated with the methylene blue (10 ppm) removal efficiency under simulated solar radiation, at low irradiance value. Vis-activation was outlined along with a promising photocatalytic efficiency (~32%) and a good stability indicating that these films could be successfully implemented also as selfcleaning coatings.