Hydrogen production and degradation of organic pollutants catalyzed by C/Ti3C2/g-C3N4 hollow microsphere Schottky junctions with a built-in electric field in organic wastewater

Abstract

C/Ti₃C₂/g-C₃N₄ hollow microspheres (HM) were prepared by the template method to construct Ti₃C₂/g-C₃N₄ Schottky junctions on the spherical surface. The C/Ti₃C₂/g-C₃N₄ HM Schottky junctions presented excellent photocatalytic properties for producing hydrogen and decomposing organic pollutants simultaneously from wastewater without the addition of a sacrifice agent. The research revealed that the built-in electric field between g-C₃N₄ and Ti₃C₂ MXene could decrease the charge transfer resistance, leading to efficient photo charge separation, and the organic pollutant tetracycline (TC) could act as a sacrifice agent for splitting water. The H₂ evolution rate of the CN-TCM-3 sample in deionized water with a sacrifice agent reached 105.4 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, and the TC removal rate reached 100% within 120 min. The hydrogen production efficiency of CN-TCM-3 in the natural water of Slender West Lake without or with TC as a sacrifice agent was 2.3 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ and 3.2 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively. The addition of TC improved the hydrogen production efficiency by 39%. This research indicated that the C/Ti₃C₂/g-C₃N₄ HM Schottky junctions could be a potential photocatalyst for producing hydrogen and decomposing organic pollutants in sewage simultaneously.