Preparation and photocatalytic properties of BNMT-BNNS/TiO2 hierarchical heterostructures

A novel one-dimensional boron nitride and titanium oxide hierarchical heterostructures (BNMT-BNNS/TiO 2 ) composite photocatalyst endowed with high specific surface area was synthesized by molten salt assisted annealing and sol-gel method. With the increase of TiO 2 concentration, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of BNMT-BNNS/TiO 2 hierarchical heterostructures increased first and then decreases, while the adsorption tended to decrease. When the molar ratio of TiO 2 to BNMT-BNNS was 27:50, BNMT-BNNS/TiO 2 displayed a higher specific surface area of 79.6770 m 2 g -1 than that of TiO 2 (19.810 m 2 g -1 ). The methylene blue photodegradation rate of BNMT-BNNS/TiO 2 is 99.62% after 115 min ultraviolet irradiation, show 1.62 times higher than that of the synthesized pure TiO 2 . The positive synergistic degradation mechanism between the strong adsorption of BNMT-BNNS support and the excellent photocatalysis of TiO 2 was also discussed in detail. This work reports the synthesis of BNMT-BNNS/TiO 2 photocatalysts with high surface area, excellent photocatalytic performance and reusability . BNMT-BNNS/TiO 2 has potential applications in practical environmental purification.