Enhanced photocatalytic activity of ZnO microflowers by a trace amount of Ti3C2 MXene

As a novel metal compound with a narrow bandgap and excellent conductivity, two-dimensional (2D) layered Ti3C2 MXene has received growing attention from researchers. In this work, microflower-like ZnO/Ti3C2 composite photocatalysts were prepared by a one-pot method and characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS techniques. The photocatalytic performances of the ZnO/Ti3C2 photocatalysts were evaluated by the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under UV–visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of ZnO was obviously enhanced with a trace amount of Ti3C2. The pseudo-first-order rate constants of the ZnO/Ti3C2-0.05 and ZnO/Ti3C2-0.5 with Ti3C2 mass percentages of 0.041% and 0.41%, respectively, were 2.9 and 4.2 times higher than that of the ZnO. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of ZnO/Ti3C2 composite was due to the increased transfer of photo-generated charge carriers. Furthermore, the ZnO/Ti3C2-0.5 composite also showed good stability, the degradation efficiency of MO was still maintained 99% even after 10-cycle of reutilization. ZnO/Ti3C2 and other Ti3C2-containing composites may have potiential application in wastewater treatment and environment remediation.