Biopolymer template synthesis has attracted extensive interest for fabricating highly porous metal oxide nanostructures.

The increasing incidence of resistance in tuberculosis and in atypical mycobacterial infections has prompted the search for alternative agents. We explored the antimycobacterial activity of Melaleuca cajuputi essential oil against tubercular and non tubercular mycobacterials isolates. The good activity observed towards M. cajuputi indicated that this essential oil might represent a promising antimicrobial agents, particularly in the management of microbial resistance.

In this work, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)/titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles with heterostructures were synthesized in situ from a mixture of melamine and peroxo-titanium complexes in a calcination process. The TiO2 nanoparticles are well-dispersed on the g-C3N4 nanosheets. The prepared TiO2/g-C3N4 composites have a heterostructure and excellent photocatalytic activity for decomposing methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The as-obtained g-C3N4 embroiled with TiO2 has a much larger surface area than its components (66.7 and 6.6 m2·g−1 for TiO2 and g-C3N4 against 95.5–143.8 m2·g−1 for the composite, respectively). It enhances the separation of photo-generated charge carriers. The TiO2/g-C3N4 photocatalytic degradation of MB was investigated in aqueous heterogeneous suspensions. The experimental kinetic data for the photocatalytic process follow the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Furthermore, TiO2/g-C3N4 retains high photocatalytic activity after four reaction cycles. In addition to prompt removal of the color, the TiO2/g-C3N4 photocatalyst can oxidize MB almost completely to final oxidation products. The pathway of MB decomposition was also addressed. Additionally, the TiO2/g-C3N4 photocatalytic system was employed to eliminate other typical organic pigments, such as malachite green, methyl blue, and methyl red. The TiO2/g-C3N4 material, with remarkable dye degradability, is a promising catalyst in industrial textile treatment and can find applications in light-harvesting systems.

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