Efficient Photocatalytic Bilirubin Removal over the Biocompatible Core/Shell P25/g-CN Heterojunctions with Metal-free Exposed Surfaces under Moderate Green Light Irradiation.

Highly-monodispersed g-CN/TiO hybrids with a core/shell structure were synthesized from a simple room temperature impregnation method, in which g-CN was coated through self-assembly on the commercially available Degussa P25 TiO nanoparticles. Structural and surface characterizations showed that the presence of g-CN notably affected the light absorption characteristics of TiO. The g-CN/TiO heterojunctions with metal-free exposed surfaces were directly used as biocompatible photocatalysts for simulated jaundice phototherapy under low-power green-light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity and stability of g-CN/TiO were enhanced relative to pure P25 or g-CN, which could be ascribed to the effective Z-scheme separation of photo-induced charge carriers in g-CN/TiO heterojunction. The photoactivity was maximized in the 4 wt.% g-CN-coated P25, as the bilirubin removal rate under green light irradiation was more than 5-fold higher than that under the clinically-used blue light without any photocatalyst. This study approves the future applications of the photocatalyst-assisted bilirubin removal in jaundice treatment under moderate green light which is more tolerable by humans.