Photocatalytic Activity Of g-C3N4 Research Articles

Polymeric g-C3N4Coupled with NaNbO3Nanowires toward Enhanced Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2into Renewable Fuel

Visible-light-responsive g-C3N4/NaNbO3 nanowires photocatalysts were fabricated by introducing polymeric g-C3N4 on NaNbO3 nanowires. The microscopic mechanisms of interface interaction, charge transfer and separation, as well as the influence on the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4/NaNbO3 composite were systematic investigated. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) revealed that an intimate interface between C3N4 and NaNbO3 nanowires formed in the g-C3N4/NaNbO3 heterojunctions. The photocatalytic performance of photocatalysts was evaluated for CO2 reduction under visible-light illumination. Significantly, the activity of g-C3N4/NaNbO3 composite photocatalyst for photoreduction of CO2 was higher than that of either single-phase g-C3N4 or NaNbO3. Such a remarkable enhancement of photocatalytic activity was mainly ascribed to the improved separation and transfer of photogenerated electron–hole pairs at the intimate interface of g-C3N4/NaNbO3 heterojunctions, which originated from the...

In-situ reduction synthesis of nano-sized Cu2O particles modifying g-C3N4 for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production

Cu2O nanoparticles (NPs) were directly formed on g-C3N4 via a one-pot in-situ reduction method. The physical and photophysical properties of these Cu2O NPs modified g-C3N4 photocatalysts were characterized to investigate the effects of Cu2O NPs on the photocatalytic activities of g-C3N4. Close contact was formed between Cu2O and g-C3N4 and the Cu2O NPs were well dispersed on g-C3N4. The visible light photocatalytic hydrogen production activity over g-C3N4 was enhanced by more than 70% with Cu2O NPs modification. It is revealed that the efficient visible light absorption and Type II band alignment induced charge separation by Cu2O NPs modification should be the key factors for improved photocatalytic performance.

Facile preparation of g-C3N4 modified BiOCl hybrid photocatalyst and vital role of frontier orbital energy levels of model compounds in photoactivity enhancement

A novel hybrid photocatalyst (g-C3N4/BiOCl) using g-C3N4 series modified with BiOCl having controllable mass ratios among the g-C3N4 and BiOCl molecules was prepared through hydrolysis process of Bi3+ onto g-C3N4, using NaBiO3 and g-C3N4 produced from pyrolysis of melamine as the starting materials. The microstructure, morphology and optical properties of the synthesized g-C3N4/BiOCl were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–Vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS) and photoluminescence (PL) emission spectroscopy. The photoactivity of the g-C3N4/BiOCl was evaluated by photodegradation of Rhodamine B(RhB) from water as a model toxic contaminant. The RhB photodegradation results revealed that the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4/BiOCl hybrid photocatalyst (mass ratio of g-C3N4/BiOCl equals to 2:8) exhibits superior activity as compared with pure BiOCl under visible light irradiation. The effects of pH, initial concentration of the model contaminant as well as the catalyst recycling on the photoactivity (or photostability) of g-C3N4/BiOCl were investigated in depth as well. Quantum chemical calculations revealed that the photoactivity enhancement is strongly dependent on the active role played by the frontier orbital energy levels of dye molecules and a probable correlation of “structure–activity” relationship was established.

Photodegradation of RhB over YVO4/g-C3N4 composites under visible light irradiation

A series of novel YVO4/g-C3N4 photocatalysts were prepared by a facile mixing and calcination method. The obtained composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and a photocurrent–time experiment. The rhodamine B dye was selected as a model pollutant to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared YVO4/g-C3N4 composite. It shows that the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 can be largely improved by the doping of YVO4. The optimal YVO4 content is determined to be 25.8 wt%; and the corresponding degradation rate is 2.34 h−1, about 2.75 folds that of pure g-C3N4. A possible mechanism of YVO4 on the enhancement of visible light performance is proposed. It suggests that YVO4 plays a key role, which may lead to efficiently suppressing the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, consequently, improving the visible light photoactivity.

Photodegradation Performance of g-C3N4 Fabricated by Directly Heating Melamine

The g-C(3)N(4) photocatalyst was synthesized by directly heating the low-cost melamine. The methyl orange dye (MO) was selected as a photodegrading goal to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of as-prepared g-C(3)N(4). The comparison experiments indicate that the photocatalytic activity of g-C(3)N(4) can be largely improved by the Ag loading. The strong acid radical ion (SO(4)(2-) or NO(3)(-)) can promote the degrading rate of MO for g-C(3)N(4) photocatalysis system. The MO degradation over the g-C(3)N(4) is mainly attributed to the photoreduction process induced by the photogenerated electrons. Our results clearly indicate that the metal-free g-C(3)N(4) has good performance in photodegradation of organic pollutant.