Facile synthesis of highly efficient mpg-C3N4/TiO2 visible-light-induced photocatalyst and its formaldehyde removal performance in coating application

A facile method was developed to prepare mesoporous graphic C3N4 (MGCN)/TiO2 composites by synthesizing MGCN through a chemical template method and combining it with TiO2 by a solvothermal route. The as-prepared nanocomposites were respectively characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy (DR-UV-Vis). The specific surface areas and pore sizes of the samples were obtained by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, and the photocatalytic performance of MGCN/TiO2 was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of methyl blue (MB) aqueous solution under visible-light irradiation, with the result that the composite prepared at the MGCN/TiO2 mass ratio of 1:1 displayed a higher photodegradation, 1.85 folds and 6.72 folds of that of pure MGCN and commercial TiO2. As-prepared MGCN/TiO2 composites were utilized as coatings on the carpet tile for removing indoor HCHO and the purification efficiency of formaldehyde can reach 39.69% (24 h0.25 m(2))(-1), which was higher than that of the blank carpet with - 16.20% (24 h0.25 m(2))(-1) for self-releasing, indicating their potential application prospect in functional coatings.