Enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ru-infused exfoliated TiB2 nanocomposite toward Congo red

Abstract

Currently, the number of dyes and pigments industries is swiftly escalating globally. Hence, treating and managing industrial dye/pigment waste material is crucial to protecting water resources for environmental and human health. Among various strategies, utilizing two-dimensional photoactive nano-catalysts is considered the most straightforward approach for water purification. In the present article, we developed an exfoliated TiB2 nanocomposite adorned with ruthenium nanoparticles (eTiB2@Ru NC). Furthermore, its photocatalytic performance was studied in detail. The pristine TiB2 (pTiB2), exfoliated TiB2 (eTiB2), and eTiB2@Ru NC were endorsed with physicochemical analyses, such as XRD, Raman, DLS, FE-SEM, BET, AFM, and XPS. From the UV - Vis spectral analysis, eTiB2@Ru NC exhibits a higher photocatalytic activity (98.41 %) compared to its pristine eTiB2 (80.43 %) and pTiB2 (60.49 %), with efficient degradation of Congo red (CR) within 55 min under visible light irradiation. Furthermore, eTiB2@Ru NC performed a reusability test for five cycles, showing a minor photocatalytic activity loss. The photocatalytic mechanism of eTiB2@Ru NC was verified to be the trapping of active species, which plays a vital role in CR degradation.