Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity of Exfoliated Boron-TiO2 Composite for Degradation of Rhodamine B and Nitrogen Fixation

The design of an efficient, recyclable, visible light photocatalytic system was examined as a viable new green way to address environmental challenges such as removal of pollutants from wastewater and N-2 fixation. The exfoliated boron (B-exf)-Titanium oxide (TiO2) composite visible light active photocatalysts were successfully constructed via a simple wet chemical method by utilizing acetone as a solvent. The composite was evaluated for the photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye and reduction of N-2, which exhibits improved photocatalytic activity for degradation of RhB as well as for reduction of N-2. Experiments with different quenchers indicate that the photogenerated superoxide radical anion (O-2 & sdot;(-)) plays a significant role in the degradation of RhB as well as for N-2 reduction reactions. The composite catalyst shows good photostability and there is no significant reduction of the catalyst activity for dye degradation up to 4 cycles of reaction. This work affords a significant view into the design of reusable TiO2 composite materials for photocatalytic RhB degradation and nitrogen fixation.