Hydrothermal synthesis of novel g-C3N4/BiOCl heterostructure nanodiscs for efficient visible light photodegradation of Rhodamine B

Abstract

Novel g-C3N4/BiOCl heterojunction nanodiscs were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. A series of two-dimensional (2D) g-C3N4/BiOCl hybrids featuring tetragonal nanodisc-like BiOCl modified with ultrathin graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets were prepared via in situ deposition of BiOCl nuclei onto protonated g-C3N4. The ultrathin g-C3N4 was produced by pyrolysis of melamine using NH4Cl as a dynamic gas template. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, electron spin resonance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence emission spectroscopy were employed to study the microstructures, composition, morphologies, and optical properties of the as-prepared hybrids. The photocatalytic activity of these heterojunction photocatalysts was investigated by degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The results revealed that the hybrid photocatalysts exhibited improved efficiency for RhB photodegradation compared to BiOCl and g-C3N4. Enhanced photocatalytic performance is mainly attributed to the heterojunction structure at the interface between BiOCl nanodiscs and g-C3N4 nanosheets, resulting in efficient charge separation and migration. Furthermore, the photosensitization of RhB also plays a crucial role in the photodegradation process over pure BiOCl under visible light.