Construction of novel 2D/1D g-C3N4/CaTiO3 heterojunction with face-to-face contact for boosting photodegradation of triphenylmethane dyes under simulated sunlight

Novel binary coupled 2D/1D g-C3N4/CaTiO3 composite photocatalysts with face-to-face contact were synthesized by a solvothermal and calcination method. The properties of g-C3N4/CaTiO3 composites were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, UV-vis/DRS, etc. The beneficial band position tuning via coupling g-C3N4 with CaTiO3, and its 2D/1D face-to-face contacted pattern transfer electrons rapidly and retard photogenerated electrons-holes recombination. The photocatalytic ability was evaluated by using crystal violet (CV) and malachite green (MG). The as-prepared g-C3N4/2CTO sample shows the highest photocatalytic activity, and the degradation rate of CV and MG can reach up to 99.76% and 95.02% under simulate sunlight owing to the impressive synergic effect between 2D/1D g-C3N4/CaTiO3 face-to-face contact pattern. The free radical scavenging experiments demonstrate that the center dot O-2(-) and h(+) are the main active species. Further, the degradation intermediates of CV and MG detected by GC-MS found both containing phenol, 2,2-Methylenebis(6-Tert-Butyl-4-Methylphenol) (MTBM). Hence, they may have a similar degradation pathway, which provided a significant guideline for the degradation of triphenylmethane dyes. Our prepared novel 2D/1D face-to-face contact pattern nanocomposite is expected to be a fresh scheme for high-efficiency refractory pollutants degradation under sunlight. (C) 2019 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.