Synergistic Effect on Photocatalytic Activity of Co-Doped NiTiO3/g-C3N4 Composites under Visible Light Irradiation

Abstract

Co-doped NiTiO3/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts were prepared by a modified Pechini method to improve their photocatalytic activity toward methylene blue photodegradation under visible light irradiation. The combination of Co-doped NiTiO3 and g-C3N4 and Co-doping into the NiTiO3 lattice synergistically enhanced the photocatalytic performance of the composite photocatalysts. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results for the Co-doped NiTiO3/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts confirmed Ti-N linkages between the Co-doped NiTiO3 and g-C3N4. In addition, characteristic X-ray diffraction peaks for the NiTiO3 lattice structure clearly indicated substitution of Co into the NiTiO3 lattice structure. The composite structure and Co-doping of the C-x composite photocatalysts (x wt % Co-doped NiTiO3/g-C3N4) not only decreased the emission intensity of the photoluminescence spectra but also the semicircle radius of the Nyquist plot in electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, giving the highest kapp value (7.15 × 10−3 min−1) for the C-1 composite photocatalyst.