Photo-electrocatalytic degradation of tylosin by TiO2 nanotube modified photoelectrode: Synthesis, kinetics, and mechanism investigations

Semiconductor photo-electrocatalytic technology is considered as an efficient and environmentally friendly wastewater treatment and energy production technology. TiO 2 NTs is widely used in the field of photoelectricity catalysis because of its chemical stability and good recycling. In this paper, g-C 3 N 4 and Ag nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of TiO 2 NTs by solid-phase sublimation and electrodeposition method to prepare Ag/g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 NTs composite photo-electrocatalytic materials. The Ag/g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 NTs composites showed significant photo-electrocatalytic activity compared with the single component materials. The mechanism of enhanced catalytic activity is that the tight interface formed between Ag, g-C 3 N 4 and TiO 2 NTs, facilitating the photoinduced electron migration from g-C 3 N 4 to TiO 2 NTs and inhibiting the recombination of carrier pairs under the cooperative mechanism of photoelectric catalysis. The results of five cycle experiments show that Ag/g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 NTs has good stability. LC-MS and ECOSAR analysis results indicate that Ag/g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 NTs photo-electrocatalytic system can be safely used for wastewater degradation treatment.