Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic properties of In_2.77S₄/Ti₃C₂ composites

Recently, the problem of water pollution, caused by antibiotics, is becoming more and more serious. Photocatalysis is one of the promising technologies for removing antibiotics from water. Herein, the In_2.77S₄/Ti₃C₂ composites were prepared by an in-situ hydrothermal growth method for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC). The as-developed composites were characterized by various methods. The UV-Vis DRS spectra reveals that the introduction of Ti₃C₂ makes the bandgap of the as-prepared composites smaller and the visible light absorption ability improved. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the as-prepared composite is enhanced under visible light illumination. It is shown as first increasing and then decreasing with increasing the content of Ti₃C₂ in the composite and reaches to the maximum of 89.3% in 90 min, which is higher than 75.1% of In_2.77S₄ and 6.7% of Ti₃C₂. The reason of improvement is the interface between In_2.77S₄ and Ti₃C₂ is tightly combined to form a heterojunction. Moreover, the photocurrent intensity of the as-obtained composite is improved, while its Nyquist arc radius is decreased. In addition, holes are the main active species and ·OH and ·O₂ ^- play an auxiliary role during the degradation of TC.