Abstract
The photocatalytic pollutant degradation activities of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) under visible light are significantly dependent on the photogenerated charge separation via electron induction to a suitable energy platform. Here, we prepared g-C3N4 nanosheets and coupled with different mass ratios of Bi2WO6 nanosheets to degrade highly toxic diuron pollutant under visible-light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). The fabricated nanosheets were characterized with a number of techniques to study the effective construction of heterojunction. Interestingly, an obvious improvement was observed in the photoactivities of both g-C3N4 and Bi2WO6 nanosheets after heterojunction formation and the amount optimized 15Bi2WO6/g-C3N4 sample showed 75% degradation activity for diuron indicating 2.13 and 2.28 times improvement when compared with isolated g-C3N4 and Bi2WO6 respectively. This obvious enhancement in photocatalytic degradation activity is attributed to the improved charge separation in the nanocomposite samples via two-way charge traffic; electron induction from g-C3N4 to Bi2WO6 and hole injection from Bi2WO6 to g-C3N4 as confirmed from photo-emission spectra, detection of hydroxyl radicals and photoelectrochemical study. We believe that the present research will help to construct feasible nanocomposites for highly improved photocatalytic activities under visible light irradiation.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
