Facile synthesis of TiO2–carbon composite doped nitrogen for efficient photodegradation of noxious methylene blue dye

Abstract

The present work shows that the degrading ability of TiO₂ is significantly improved when exposed to light, particularly in relation to the organic dye methylene blue (MB), following the introduction of a carbon framework through sol-hydrothermal synthesis approach. The newly prepared TiO₂–C@N composite had the ability to function as both an adsorbent and a photocatalyst to eliminate MB from contaminated wastewater. The outcomes show the removal efficiency of MB amounts to 99.87% upon the application of UV radiation, which is much higher than the rate achieved under dark conditions (28.9%). As ascertained by the kinetic study, the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV light through photocatalysis using the TiO₂–C@N photocatalyst conformed to the widely recognized pseudo-first order (PFO) model. TiO₂–C@N photocatalyst showed outstanding reliability and reusability, maintaining consistent degradation efficiency over five consecutive cycles without any obvious decline. The materials were characterized by XRD, XPS, FE-SEM, EDS, and N₂ adsorption–desorption measurements. Nanometer-sized particles, a unique surface dominance, high surface area, large pore volume ratios, low band gap, high oxygen vacancies, increased pollution absorptivity, and reduced electron–hole pair recombination characterize the monolithic TiO₂–C@N photocatalyst over TiO₂. These unique features render TiO₂–C@N a promising catalyst in effectively breaking down noxious MB organic pollutants through photodegradation.