Practical Preparation of Carbon Black/Carbon Nitride Compounds and Their Photocatalytic Performance

Abstract

Here we report a carbon‐black‐modified g‐C3N4 nanocomposite prepared by a convenient method and its photocatalytic performance, which was compared with other carbon‐material‐, carbon nanotube (CNT)‐, C60‐, and graphene (GR)‐modified g‐C3N4 nanocomposites. X‐ray diffraction, N2 adsorption, UV–vis spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence were used to characterize the prepared composite material. The results reveal that incorporating g‐C3N4 with carbon materials decreases the bandgap and the electron–hole recombination rate of the prepared catalysts. No significant difference was observed in the structural and optical properties among these four series of carbon‐material‐modified g‐C3N4 nanocomposites. Carbon‐based materials cannot act as visible‐light sensitizers but they can facilitate the separation and transport of photogenerated carriers. These composites obey a tentative reaction mechanism similar to rhodamine B (RhB) photocatalytic degradation. Carbon‐black‐modified g‐C3N4 exhibits comparable activity and stability as those of GR‐modified g‐C3N4 , which is better than the modification by C60 and CNTs. Compared to CNTs, GR, and C60 , carbon black is a cheap and effective carbon source with excellent photocatalytic performance for the preparation of carbon material/g‐C3N4 nanocomposites.