Highly Photocatalytic Titanium Oxide/Carbon Nitride Heterojunctions Obtained via Dual Asymmetric Centrifugation

In this work dual asymmetric centrifugation technique was applied to obtain new TiO2/carbon nitride heterojunctions (TiO2/g-C3N4) with high photocatalytic performance. Materials were obtained from TiO2 and g-C3N4, with an optimal mass ratio of 1.0:0.1 for achieving the highest photocatalytic activity in dyes degradation. The TiO2/g-C3N4 (1.0/0.1) photocatalyst was characterized via X-ray diffraction, confirming the crystalline phases and chemical composition of the material. UV–VIS spectroscopy data showed an increase in the visible light absorption, indicating an effective interaction between the heterojunction components. XPS data showed the formation of Ti3+ ions and oxygen vacancies, boosting the photocatalytic process. The TiO2/g-C3N4 (1.0/0.1) showed the highest photocatalytic performance degrading 99.9 % of rhodamine B and 99.6 % of methylene blue in 60 min under LED light irradiation. Radicals trapping experiments indicated O2–● radicals as the major photoactive species, through a Z-scheme type mechanism. The product of RhB photodegradation did not show toxicity to Artemia fransciscana larvae.