Fabrication of rGO-Bridged TiO/g-CN Z-Scheme Nanocomposites via Pulsed Laser Ablation for Efficient Photocatalytic CO Reduction.

Highly efficient photocatalysts can be fabricated using favorable charge transfer nanocomposite channel structures. This study adopted pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) to obtain rGO-bridged TiO/g-CN (rGO-TiO/g-CN) photocatalytic Z-scheme without the need for noble metals. In addition to evaluating the resulting nanocomposite (comprising rGO nanosheets, TiO nanotubes, and g-CN nanosheets) CO reduction effectiveness, its chemical, morphological, structural, and optical characteristics were examined using various analytical techniques. The findings revealed a synergistic interaction between g-CN and TiO, suggesting the presence of unique interfacial bonding, as well as enhanced visible light absorption. Notably, the ternary rGO-TiO/g-CN Z-scheme exhibits an excellent photocatalytic performance by photocatalytically converting CO into CO and CH, with 81 % selectivity towards the CO and 1.91 % apparent quantum efficiency at 420 nm. Thus, the findings can pave the way for various Z-scheme systems in wide photocatalytic applications.