Abstract
In this work, the g-C3N4 nanoparticles decorated BiFeO3 microspheres composites (g-C3N4/BiFeO3) were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of g-C3N4 nanoparticles together with BiFeO3 microspheres. The SEM and HRTEM observation indicate that the C3N4 nanoparticles with size of 30-50 nm are well decorated on the surface of BiFeO3 microspheres. The photocatalytic activities of the samples are investigated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under the irradiation of simulated sunlight. The as-prepared g-C3N4/BiFeO3 composites exhibit remarkable enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with bare BiFeO3. More importantly, the photocataltic performance of the composites is further confirmed by the degradation of colorless phenol. Furthermore, the favorable catalytic stability of composites is demonstrated through the recycling photocatalytic experiment. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4/BiFeO3 composites is mainly attributed to the separation of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs, resulting from the migration of the photoinduced charge between g-C3N4 nanoparticles and BiFeO3. A possible photocatalytic mechanism for dye degradation over g-C3N4/BiFeO3 composite is proposed based on the active species trapping experiment, revealing that the photogenerated hole (h+) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) are regarded as the major active species for the decomposition of dye, while hydroxyl radicals (•OH) plays a minor role in the photocatalytic reaction.
Highlights
Semiconductor based photocatalysis has attracted considerable attentions owing to its promising application in solar energy conversion and environmental purification[1,2,3,4,5,6]
The photocatalytic performance of bare BiFeO3 is not satisfactory owing to high recombination rate of photogenerated electronhole pairs, and this shortage limits its practical applications in the field of photocatalysis
After the H2SO4 treatment, it is seen that the (100) peak of g-C3N4 nanoparticles almost disappears which is mainly attributed to the decreased planar size of the g-C3N4 layers
Summary
Semiconductor based photocatalysis has attracted considerable attentions owing to its promising application in solar energy conversion and environmental purification[1,2,3,4,5,6]. A metal-free organic semiconductor photocatalysts, graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with small bandgap of 2.7 eV, has been found to be a promising candidate for photocatalytic applications because of its narrow bandgap, non-toxicity, low cost and excellent chemical stability[20,21]. It can be obtained by the heat treatment of nitrogen-rich precursors at relatively low temperature[20,21]. The promotion mechanism of g-C3N4 nanoparticles on the photocatalytic performance of BiFeO3 microspheres was investigated in detail
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