Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets coupled with carbon dots and BiOI nanoparticles: Boosting visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

Abstract

Abstract In this study, we have developed a novel approach for depositing carbon dots (CDs) and BiOI nanoparticles onto the surface of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets (gCN-NS). The synthesized materials were subsequently characterized by means of XRD, EDX, SEM, HRTEM, UV–vis DRS, FT-IR, TGA, XPS, PL, and BET instruments. The photocatalytic performance of the synthesized nanocomposites was evaluated by degradations of Rhodamine B (RhB), methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), and Fuchsine under visible-light illumination. The obtained results revealed that the ternary gCN-NS/CDs/BiOI nanocomposites exhibited much better photocatalytic performance compared to the bare and binary photocatalysts due to the enhanced visible light absorption and improved charge separation. The gCN-NS/CDs/BiOI (30%) nanocomposite displayed superior photocatalytic performance for the removal of RhB, MB, MO, and fuchsine, which is about 29.5, 17.7, 10.9, and 16.5 times higher than that of the gCN. A good recyclability was also observed for the ternary nanocomposite after five cycles. Based on the obtained results, possible mechanism for the substantial enhancement of the photocatalytic performance via depositing the CDs and BiOI nanoparticles onto the surface of gCN-NS was discussed.