Preparation of Ti mesh supported N–S–C-tridoped TiO2 nanosheets to achieve high utilization of optical energy for photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin

Abstract

The Ti mesh supported N–S–C-tridoped TiO₂ nanosheet (N–S–C/TiO₂/TMs) catalysts were successfully fabricated by the one-step in situ hydrothermal synthesis method, and then used for photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The results showed that the N, S and C were transferred into the lattice of TiO₂ and improved the visible light response of TiO₂/TM. The degradation of norfloxacin by trilaminar Ti mesh supported N–S–C/TiO₂ (3-N–S–C/TiO₂/TMs) catalysts was 92%, much higher than that of 3-TiO₂/TMs. Furthermore, the photocatalytic performances of 3-TiO₂/TMs and equiponderant on Ti foil supported TiO₂ (1-TiO₂/TF) were also investigated. The experimental results demonstrated that the characteristic three-dimensional (3D) arrays and porous structure of 3-TiO₂/TMs significantly enhanced the photon utilization during the degradation reaction, which induced a much higher degradation efficiency of 55% than that of equiponderant 1-TiO₂/TF (23%) in 120 min.