Abstract
A series of composites consisting of g-C&sub3;N&sub4; sheet and mesoporous Nb&sub2;O₅ (mNb&sub2;O₅) microsphere were fabricated by in situ hydrolysis deposition of NbCl₅ onto g-C&sub3;N&sub4; sheet followed by solvothermal treatment. The samples were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N&sub2; adsorption-desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The photocatalytic activity of the composites was studied by degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). Compared with g-C&sub3;N&sub4; and mNb&sub2;O₅, g-C&sub3;N&sub4;-mNb&sub2;O₅ composites have higher photocatalytic activity due to synergistic effect between g-C&sub3;N&sub4; and mNb&sub2;O₅. Among these composites, 4% g-C&sub3;N&sub4;-mNb&sub2;O₅ has the highest efficiency and good recyclability for degradation of both RhB and TC-HCl.