Improvement of photocatalytic effect of carbon nitride dispersed in calcium alginate thin films by using platinum cocatalyst and application to water decomposition

Abstract

Carbon nitride is a photocatalytic material that can be applied to water splitting, but there are two problems. One is its poor water resistance. To solve this, we prepared carbon nitride dispersed in calcium alginate as a water-resistant gel. Another issue is the fast recombination rate of electron-hole pairs in carbon nitride. To solve this, platinum (Pt) nanoparticles were loaded. We investigated the effect of loading Pt nanoparticles on carbon nitride thin films with calcium alginate, and examined the optimal conditions for both the amounts of added carbon nitride and loaded Pt nanoparticles to improve photocatalytic activity.