Facile Synthesis of g-C3N4/TiO2/Hectorite Z-Scheme Composite and Its Visible Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B

A novel g-C3N4/TiO2/hectorite Z-scheme composites with oxygen vacancy (Vo) defects and Ti3+ were synthesized by so-gel method and high temperature solid phase reaction. This composite exhibited high visible photo-catalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB). The apparent rate constant of g-C3N4/TiO2/hectorite was 0.01705 min(-1), which is approximately 5.38 and 4.88 times that of P25 and g-C3N4, respectively. The enhancement of photo-catalytic efficiency of the composites can be attributed to the great light harvesting ability, high specific surface area and effective separation of electrons(e(-)) and holes(h(+)). The F element from Hectorite causes the formation of Vo and Ti3+ in TiO2, making it responsive to visible light. The effective separation of e(-) and h(+) mainly results from Z-scheme transfer of photo-produced electrons in g-C3N4/TiO2 interface. The composites can be easily recycled and the degradation rate of the RhB still reached 84% after five cycles, indicating its good reusability.