Immobilization of 2D/2D structured g-C3N4 nanosheet/reduced graphene oxide hybrids on 3D nickel foam and its photocatalytic performance

Abstract

It is highly desired to immobilize photocatalysts on solid surface for environmental applications. In this work, 2D/2D structured g-C3N4/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrids were successfully immobilized on 3D nickel foam using a facile dip-coating method followed by a hydrazine hydrate reduction process. The g-C3N4/rGO hybrids loaded on nickel foam forms a stable coating with excellent photocatalytic activity for tetracycline and methyl orange degradation under visible light irradiation. The highest photocatalytic activity can be achieved when the weight ratio of rGO to g-C3N4 in hybrids was illustrated as 1:9. Furthermore, this special 2D/2D structured g-C3N4/rGO hybrid coating demonstrated the preferable stability. The effective electrons transfer between g-C3N4 nanosheets and rGO as well as the abundant coupling heterointerfaces may play an important role on the photocatalytic performance of hybrid coating. The formation and photocatalytic mechanisms of g-C3N4/rGO hybrid coating were also proposed in detail.