Preparation of colored TiO 2 flower/Ti 3 C 2 for efficient photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

Herein, colored TiO 2 flowers grown on Ti 3 C 2 (XTFT, where X = 250 degrees C, 300 degrees C, and 350 degrees C representing heating temperature) are prepared as photocatalysts for degradation of tetracycline using hydrothermal method and CVD process. TiO 2 has a suitable bandgap as a photocatalyst. However, in practical applications, TiO 2 cannot effectively utilize visible light and the recombination of photogenerated carriers is excessively fast. The fabrication of XTFT through defect engineering compensates for the shortcomings of pure TiO 2 in photocatalytic applications, following which the bandgap of TiO 2 is reduced and the TiO 2 surface becomes discolored and effectively responds to visible light. Ti 3 C 2 , a promising auxiliary material in the field of photocatalysis, is used as a photocatalyst in the degradation of tetracycline via defect engineering. After forming a composite with TiO 2 , Ti 3 C 2 can effectively separate TiO 2 photogenerated carriers to enhance the photocatalytic performance of TiO 2 . The degradation rate of 50 mL 50 mg/L tetracycline by 50 mg 300TFT under visible light irradiation for 30 min is 96.3 %. Compared with pure TiO 2 , the photocatalytic efficiency is significantly improved, thus providing a new idea for realization of highly efficient visible photocatalysis in the field of environmental pollution in future.