Preparation of carbon-coated brookite@anatase TiO2 heterophase junction nanocables with enhanced photocatalytic performance

Abstract

One-dimensional TiO₂@C nanocables with a heterophase junction have been successfully prepared by coating brookite@anatase TiO₂ with a thin layer of hydrothermal carbon (HTC). Compared with anatase TiO₂, the biphase brookite@anatase structure can reduce the recombination rate of the excited electron/hole pairs of TiO₂. The HTC coating not only enhances the adsorption capability of the TiO₂ catalyst for organic pollutants but also facilitates photogenerated electron transfer to further increase its photocatalytic activity. Therefore, compared with anatase TiO₂, brookite@anatase TiO₂, and TiO₂@C, the brookite@anatase TiO₂@C shows the highest photocatalytic activity for the photodegradation of tetracycline (TC) under the irradiation of UV-visible light. Moreover, ˙O₂ has been proved to be the predominant active species for the photodegradation of TC, and the photocatalytic mechanism of brookite@anatase TiO₂@C nanocables has also been proposed.