Influence of the nitrogen pots from graphitic carbon nitride with the presence of wrinkled silica-titania for photodegradation enhancement of 2-chlorophenol

An interlayer structure hybrid wrinkled silica titania (WST) loaded on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was successfully constructed using facile microwave-assisted solid-state technique. The as-prepared materials were characterized using N2 adsorption-desorption, XRD, FESEM, UV-Vis DRS, FTIR, and TEM analysis. The photocatalytic degradation of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) towards visible light illumination (150 mW/cm2) is following the sequence: 10 wt% WST@CN (91%) > 5 wt% WST@CN (65%) > g-C3N4 (63%) > 15 wt% WST@CN (58%) > WST (50%). The supreme photocatalytic performance of 10 wt% WST@CN was owing to the WST morphology that more concealed between stacked layer of g-C3N4, as a consequence of the stronger interaction between "nitrogen pots" of the g-C3N4 and Si/Ti species of the 10 wt% WST, and thus, enhanced the efficiency of charge separation. These criteria provide better charge carrier mobility for enhanced visible light driven photocatalytic performance. The kinetic studies revealed that the photocatalytic degra-dation of 2-CP using 10 wt% WST@CN obeyed a model of pseudo-first order, with the surface reaction being the rate determining step. Subsequently, the scavenger study confirmed that hydroxyl radicals that absorbed on the catalyst surface play a major role over 10 wt% WST@CN as emerged from the mechanism of Z-scheme. It is notable that the interfacial of WST@CN composite could appear as an excellent catalyst for its useful application for endocrine disruptive wastewater treatment.& COPY; 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.