Hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2/Ti3C2 nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract TiO2/Ti3C2 nanocomposites with high photocatalytic activity were successfully fabricated via a hydrothermal process. The microstructure and phase composition of these composites were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The photocatalytic performance of pure TiO2 and TiO2/Ti3C2 nanocomposites were evaluated by photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) under ultraviolet light irradiation. Photodegradation tests results revealed that TiO2/Ti3C2 have much better photocatalytic activity than pure TiO2 nanomaterials. And it was suggested that the TiO2/Ti3C2 exhibited more effective electron–hole separation than pure TiO2 and Ti3C2 under UV light irradiation.