Fabrication and study of a novel TiO2/g-C3N5 material and photocatalytic properties using methylene blue and tetracycline under visible light

Industrial applications of dyes increasing damage natural ecosystems. Photocatalysis is a promising technology for the treatment of such environmental pollutants. In this study, graphite-like C3N5 was prepared using triazole, and subsequently, a z-scheme heterostructure with TiO2 was synthesized in a two-step process (hydrothermal and calcination). The photocatalytic performance of the TiO2/g-C3N5 composite was evaluated using methylene blue (MB) and tetracycline (TC) as simulated pollutants. Compared with pure TiO2, the removal rates of MB and TC by TiO2/g-C3N5 were increased by 4.6 times and 2.3 times, respectively. The performance improvement is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect between TiO2 and g-C3N5, which promotes the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Finally, a potential degradation mechanism of the TiO2/g-C3N5 composite photocatalyst is proposed.