One-step hydrothermal generation of oxygen-deficient N-doped blue TiO2-Ti3C2 for degradation of pollutants and antibacterial properties

Abstract

In this study, TiO₂ was generated in situ on the surface of Ti₃C₂ by a hydrothermal process, and urea was added to form N-doped TiO₂-Ti₃C₂. The surface morphology and functional group properties of the prepared materials were analyzed by SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, etc. The results showed that anatase TiO₂ formed on the surface of the Ti₃C₂ monolayer. Nitrogen-doped nanomaterials show good phenol degradation and good recyclability under visible light. At a urea content of 0.5 g, the photocatalytic degradation of phenol under visible light is best, reaching 88.9% in 3 h, with ·OH and ·O^2- holes playing the leading role. However, at lower pH and higher ion concentration, the degradability of N-TiO₂-Ti₃C₂ for phenol is reduced. Furthermore, the material prepared in this work is a two-dimensional layered material, and the adsorption of phenol best fits the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. In terms of the antibacterial performance of the material, the N-doped TiO₂-Ti₃C₂ nanomaterial made with 0.2 g of urea has an Escherichia coli scavenging efficiency of about 97.86%, which is an excellent antibacterial material. This study shows that the N-TiO₂-Ti₃C₂ produced in this experiment can be used for environmental applications.

Keywords: Antibacterial activity; Blue TiO(2)–Ti(3)C(2); Hydrothermal; Mxenes; Phenol.