Uniform assembly of gold nanoparticles on S-doped g-C3N4 nanocomposite for effective conversion of 4-nitrophenol by catalytic reduction

Abstract

In this work, a simple synthesis of sulfur doped graphitic carbon nitride (S-g-C3N4) act as a support cum stabilizers for gold nanoparticles (Au) and its was characterized by UV–vis and XRD to measure the absorbance and crystallinity, respectively. The functional group and morphology of the samples were identified using FT-IR and TEM. Finally, the Au@S-g-C3N4 nanocatalyst exhibits good catalytic performance and stability in the reduction of hazardous 4-nitrophenol (NP) compared to S-g-C3N4 using NaBH4. Moreover, the Au@S-g-C3N4 nanocomposite holds a good catalytic efficiency (near 100%) achieved by within 5 min. The highest catalytic reduction of NP is due to the synergistic effect of Au nanoparticles decorated on S-g-C3N4. The fast electron transfer reduction mechanism was elucidated and discussed. Excellent reusability and stability of the developed nanocomposites were also observed in consecutive reduction experiments. The filtering and catalyzing device was used for the direct conversion of NP polluted water. This method can open a new avenue for the metal nanoparticles based carbon materials heterogeneous catalyst and its reduction of toxic contaminants.