Defect engineered mesoporous 2D graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet photocatalyst for rhodamine B degradation under LED light illumination

Abstract

In this work, a nitrogen vacancy induced 2D mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheet photocatalyst was successfully synthesized through a simple two-step thermal treatment method. The morphology of the nanosheet photocatalyst and the presence of nitrogen vacancy was explored through a wide range of characterization techniques. The as-prepared photocatalyst possess an improved visible light absorption efficiency as confirmed from the UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Moreover, the improved charge carrier separation efficiency of the nitrogen vacant material was demonstrated from the photoluminescence spectrum. Most importantly, the photocatalyst exhibited an excellent photodegradation efficiency towards rhodamine B (RhB) dye under the illumination of an 18 W LED light. The vacancy induced nanosheets demonstrated a degradation co-efficient of 0.074 min−1 in RhB degradation, which is 9.25 fold higher than that of the bulk g-C3N4. The nanosheets further exhibited an enhanced degradation efficiency toward tetracycline antibiotics. Furthermore, the photocatalyst displayed outstanding stability even after 5 cycles. A plausible photocatalytic mechanism has also been explained based on the results obtained from the radical scavenging experiments. This study would provide insight into the defect induction mechanism into the 2D g-C3N4 nanosheet and expected to help in rationally designing vacancy induced materials with cost-effective application in various environmental fields.