Facile Synthesis with TiO Xerogel and Urea Enhanced Aniline Aerofloat Degradation Performance of Direct Z-Scheme Heterojunction TiO/g-CN Composite.

Different TiO/g-CN (TCN) composites were synthesized by a simple pyrolysis method with TiO xerogel and urea. The structure and physicochemical properties of TCN were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectrum, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N-adsorption isotherms and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Aniline Aerofloat was chosen as a typical degradation-resistant contaminant to investigate the photodegradation activity of TCN under UV irradiation. The results indicated that TCN had higher light absorption intensity, larger specific surface area and smaller particle size compared to pure TiO. Furthermore, TCN had great recycling photocatalytic stability for the photodegradation of Aniline Aerofloat. The photocatalytic activity depends on the synergistic reaction between holes (h) and hydroxyl radicals (·OH). Meanwhile, the direct Z-scheme heterojunction structure of TiO and g-CN postpones the recombination of h and electrons to enhance UV-light photocatalytic activity.