Enhanced Ethylene Photodegradation Performance of g‐C3N4–Ag3PO4 Composites with Direct Z‐Scheme Configuration

Photocatalytic oxidation of ethylene continues to be a challenge at the frontier of chemistry. In a previous report, a simple Ag₃PO₄ semiconductor material was shown to have strong photooxidative properties and efficiently oxidised water and decomposed organics in aqueous solution under visible‐light illumination. Herein, its effects on the photo‐oxidation of gaseous C₂H₄ were investigated by fabricating graphitic C₃N₄–Ag₃PO₄ composite semiconductors with direct Z‐scheme configuration. It was found that both the ethylene photo‐oxidative activity and the stability of Ag₃PO₄ are considerably improved by fabrication of Z‐scheme composites. Moreover, stable C₂H₄ photo‐oxidation activity could be obtained by treating the composite at 450 °C for 3 h after long‐term operation. From the point of view of environmental pollutant cleanup, the present technique avoids the side reaction of oxidising water and will be valuable for further investigations on both Ag₃PO₄ and CH degradation.