Ti-dopamine/sodium alginate multicomponent complex derived N-doped TiO@carbon nanocomposites for efficient removal of methylene blue.

A one-pot route for the preparation of TiO@carbon nanocomposite from Ti/polysaccharide coordination complex has been developed and shown advantages in operation, cost, environment, etc. However, the photodegradation rate of methylene blue (MB) needs to be improved. N-doping has been proven as an efficient means to enhance photodegradation performance. Thus, the present study upgraded the TiO@carbon nanocomposite to N-doped TiO@carbon nanocomposite (N-TiO@C) from Ti-dopamine/sodium alginate multicomponent complex. The composites were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, XPS, UV-vis DRS, TG-DTA, and SEM-EDS. The obtained TiO was a typical rutile phase, and the carboxyl groups existed on N-TiO@C. The photocatalyst consequently showed high removal efficiency of MB. The cycling experiment additionally indicated the high stability of N-TiO@C. The present work provided a novel route for preparing N-TiO@C. Moreover, it can be extended to prepare N-doped polyvalent metal oxides@carbon composites from all water-soluble polysaccharides such as cellulose derivatives, starch, and guar gum.