Abstract
A new photocatalyst of TiO2/C3N4 composite (TiO2/g-C3N4) was synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The characterization showed that TiO2/g-C3N4 extended absorption light range and enhanced generation efficiency of photo-induced electron. Under the simulated solar irradiation, the photodegradation rate of bisphenol A (BPA) by TiO2/g-C3N4 was twice as fast as that of g-C3N4. Furthermore, TiO2/g-C3N4 presented the good stability and excellent selectivity for BPA degradation. The high degradation rate of BPA by TiO2/g-C3N4 was demonstrated to be superoxide radical (·O2−) and singlet oxygen (1O2) by radical quenching experiment, which was further evidenced by EPR, XPS, DRS and PL analysis. These findings revealed that TiO2/g-C3N4 can be used as a potential photocatalyst for removing organic pollutants in actual environmental remediation.
•Heterogeneous TiO2/g-C3N4 extended absorption-light range and photoelectron production.•TiO2/g-C3N4 display the good stability and high selectivity for BPA degradation.•BPA degradation was attributed to ·O2− and 1O2 radicals by EPR and XPS analysis.•C3N4-based composite was a promising photocatalyst for removing organic pollutants.