Enhanced performance of attapulgite-supported g-C3N4 for photocatalytic CO2 reduction

Abstract

As a new type of non-metallic semiconductor photocatalyst, g-C3N4 has great potential in photocatalytic CO2 reduction. However, due to the low catalytic activity, it is still far from industrial reality for such applications. Herein, this work introduces attapulgite (ATP) into the photocatalyst system of g-C3N4. Additionally, ATP/Au-CN was obtained through the photodeposition method. The photocatalytic reduction ability of the photocatalyst for CO2 is enhanced. The photoelectric tests show that loading of ATP can promote the separation and migration of photocarriers. Through BET testing, it was found that the alkaline pore structure on the surface of ATP not only captures CO2, but also increases the specific surface area of the composite. According to the experimental results, the possible photocatalytic mechanism was verified by in-situ diffuse reflection infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectral analysis and DFT calculation. This work provides new guidance for the construction of high efficient photocatalyst systems using abundant ATP as a support.