Efficient photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue using 3D urchin-like TiO2@rGO-hBN architecture

Abstract

3D urchin-like TiO₂@rGO-hBN architectures were produced by a hydrothermal method, followed by a cold plasma jet process. The morphology, crystal structure, composition and photocatalytic performance of the 3D urchin-like TiO₂@rGO-hBN architectures towards methylene blue (MB) were evaluated using SEM, Raman, XRD, EDS and UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometry. The obtained results indicated that under the same conditions, the MB degradation efficiencies were ∼72%, ∼81%, ∼87%, and ∼98% for 3D urchin-like TiO₂, 3D urchin-like TiO₂@rGO, 3D urchin-like TiO₂@hBN, and 3D urchin-like TiO₂@rGO-hBN, respectively, within 70 min under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation with a wavelength of 365 nm. The significantly improved MB degradation efficiency was attributed to the effective separation of electron–hole pairs and the formation of ternary heterojunctions based on TiO₂, rGO and hBN. The results show the promising potential of 3D urchin-like TiO₂@rGO-hBN for applications in the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants.