Facile Synthesis of Carbon/g‐C3N4 Nanocomposites as Metal‐Free Photocatalyst with Enhanced Visible‐Light‐Responsive Photocatalytic Properties

Abstract

AbstractThe development of highly effective metal‐free photocatalysts in place of traditional photocatalysts is of great significance for environmental remediation by utilization of solar energy. In this work, a new 2D carbon/g‐C3N4 metal‐free photocatalyst was designed and fabricated via one‐step thermal treatment of cyanamide and spent tea leaves (STL). The as‐prepared samples were fully characterized and the results revealed that carbon nanosheets are evenly attached on the surface of g‐C3N4 by chemical bonds rather than simple physical stacking, which is beneficial to the strong interface interaction. The intimate interfacial bonding of carbon materials with g‐C3N4 exhibit enlarged specific surface area, broadened photo‐response range, efficient photo‐induced electron migration as well as high stability. Thus, the carbon/g‐C3N4 photocatalyst showed remarkable enhanced photocatalytic activities in the degradation of antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) in aqueous solution and gaseous benzene than that of pristine g‐C3N4 under visible light. Furthermore, a possible photocatalytic mechanism for the improved photocatalytic performance over carbon/g‐C3N4 nanocomposites was proposed. This research work can promote the exploration on facile synthesis of total metal‐free carbon/g‐C3N4 photocatalysts with biomass as the carbon source and its application in environmental pollutants elimination.