Novel surface structure of LaFeO3/nitrogen-deficient g-C3N4 nanocomposites to improve visible-light photocatalytic performance toward phenol removal.

Abstract

Herein, novel surface structure LaFeO3/nitrogen-deficient g-C3N4 nanocomposites (LaFeO3/g-C3N4-H) have been successfully synthesized by a two-step process. First, nitrogen-deficient graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4-H) was produced by thermally condensing melamine that had been treated with acetic acid as a precursor. After that, LaFeO3 was incorporated into the g-C3N4-H nanosheets. The as-prepared nanostructured materials were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, N2 adsorption-desorption experiments, FESEM, and TEM, demonstrating the formation of interfacial interaction and heterogeneous structure in LaFeO3/g-C3N4-H nanocomposites. Additionally, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) and photoluminescence spectra (PL) have been used to assess the optical properties of the nanohybrids. The results show that the LaFeO3/g-C3N4-H nanocomposite was successfully produced with a reliable interfacial interface, and produced a good heterojunction relationship between g-C3N4-H and LaFeO3 which may significantly boost the photocatalytic activity as compared to prinstine g-C3N4 and LaFeO3. Phenol degradation under visible light irradiation was used to test the photocatalytic activity of LaFeO3/g-C3N4-H, and the results showed that 10%-LaFeO3/g-C3N4-H had significant photocatalytic activity and remarkable adsorption efficiency, with an overall removal rate of phenol up to 88% after 180min of visible light irradiation. This study may present a novel method for developing highly efficient artificial photocatalytic systems.