Rice spike-like g-C3N4/TiO2 heterojunctions with tight-binding interface by using sodium titanate ultralong nanotube as precursor and template

A novel rice spike-like g-C3N4/TiO2 nanowire heterojunctions are fabricated by hydrothermal treating Na2Ti3O7 ultralong nanotubes in the presence of g-C3N4. The presence of g-C3N4 promotes the hydrolysis of Na2Ti3O7 ultralong nanotubes. The partially replaced O of TiO2 by N from g-C3N4 leads to the formation of a tight-binding interface between one dimensional TiO2 and two dimensional g-C3N4, which is crucial for fast and effective transfer of photogenerated electrons in heterostructured photocatalysts. As a result, the g-C3N4/TiO2 nanowire heterojunctions exhibit excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity. The kinetic constant (k) of g-C3N4/TiO2 (0.024 min−1) for degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation is 1.85 and 4 times than that of pure g-C3N4 and P25, respectively.