Nitrogen and Carbon Nitride-Doped TiO₂ for Multiple Catalysis and Its Antimicrobial Activity

Nitrogen (N) and carbon nitride (C₃N₄)-doped TiO₂ nanostructures were prepared using co-precipitation route. Fixed amount of N and various concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 wt%) of C₃N₄ were doped in TiO₂ lattice. Through multiple techniques, structural, chemical, optical and morphological properties of samples were thoroughly investigated. XRD results verified anatase TiO₂ presence along the substitutional doping of N, while higher degree of crystallinity as well as increased crystallite size were noticed after doping. HR-TEM study revealed formation of nanostructures incorporated on two dimensional (2D) C₃N₄ nanosheet surface. Elemental composition was checked out using EDS technique which confirmed the presence of dopant in product. Optical characteristics were evaluated with UV-vis spectroscopy which depicted representative redshift in absorption spectra resulted in a reduction in bandgap energy in N/C₃N₄-doped TiO₂ samples. The formation of Ti-O-Ti bonds and different molecular vibrations were disclosed by FTIR. Trap sites and charge carrier's migration in the materials were evaluated with PL spectroscopy. Multiple catalytic activities (photo, sono and photo-sono) were undertaken to evaluate the dye degradation performance of prepared specimen against methylene blue and ciprofloxacin. Further, antimicrobial activity was analyzed against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria.