Enhancement in the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanofibers hybridized with g-C3N4 via electrospinning

TiO₂/g-C₃N₄ nanofibers with diameter of 100–200 nm were prepared by electrospinning method after calcination at high temperature, using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), Melamine (C₃H₆N₆), Ti(OC₄H₉)₄ as raw materials. The composite nanofibers were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, UV–vis and PL respectively. The effects of different g-C₃N₄ contents on structure and photocatalytic degradation of the composite nanofibers were investigated. The results indicated that with increasing g-C₃N₄ content, the diameter of the composite fibers increased and the morphology changed from uniform structure to a nonuniform one, containing beads. The composite nanofibers displayed the best photocatalytic degradation on RhB, when the g-C₃N₄ content was 0.8 wt%. The degree of degradation was up to 99% at the optimal conditions of 40 min. The degradation activity of the composite nanofibers on RhB, MB and MO was found to be higher than that of the TiO₂ nanofibers.     

氮缺陷石墨相氮化碳的制备及其光催化降解环境有机污染物性能

通过在三聚氰胺热分解过程中加入NaHCO₃制备出具有氮缺陷的石墨相氮化碳（g-C₃N₄）,利用X射线衍射（XRD）、傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT-IR）、N₂吸附-脱附、X射线光电子能谱（XPS）、紫外-可见漫反射光谱（UV-vis DRS）和固体荧光光谱（PL）等方法对其进行表征,并在可见光（λ> 420nm）照射下,以水相中罗丹明B（RhB）的降解为模型反应,研究了该氮缺陷g-C₃N₄对有机污染物降解的光催化活性。结果表明,引入氮缺陷可以提高g-C₃N₄对可见光的吸收以及电子-空穴对的分离效率,进而提高g-C₃N₄的可见光催化活性。催化剂CNK0.005、CNK0.01和CNK0.05在30min内对RhB的降解率分别为79.8%、100.0%和87.6%;而在相同条件下,没有氮缺陷的g-C₃N₄对RhB的降解率仅为59.8%。     

Novel ternary g-C3N4/Ag3VO4/AgBr nanocomposites with excellent visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance for environmental applications

Novel visible-light-induced photocatalysts were fabricated by integration of Ag₃VO₄ and AgBr semiconductors with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) through a facile refluxing method. The fabricated photocatalysts were extensively characterized by XRD, EDX, SEM, TEM, FT-IR, UV–vis DRS, BET, TGA, and PL instruments. The photocatalytic performance of these samples was studied by degradations of three dye contaminants under visible-light exposure. Among the ternary photocatalysts, the g-C₃N₄/Ag₃VO₄/AgBr (10%) nanocomposite displayed the maximum activity for RhB degradation with rate constant of 1366.6 × 10⁻⁴ min⁻¹, which is 116, 7.23, and 38.5 times as high as those of the g-C₃N₄, g-C₃N₄/AgBr (10%), and g-C₃N₄/Ag₃VO₄ (30%) photocatalysts, respectively. The effects of synthesis time and calcination temperature were also investigated and discussed. Furthermore, according to the trapping experiments, it was found that superoxide anion radicals were the predominant reactive species in this system. Finally, the ternary photocatalyst displayed superlative activity in removal of the contaminants under visible-light exposure, displaying great potential of this ternary photocatalyst for environmental remediation, because of a facile synthesis route and outstanding photocatalytic performance.     

Ag nanoparticles loaded on porous graphitic carbon nitride with enhanced photocatalytic activity for degradation of phenol

Highly efficient photocatalyst of visible-light-driven Ag nanoparticles loaded on porous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) was prepared by the reduction of Ag ions on porous g-C₃N₄. The obtained Ag/porous g-C₃N₄ composite products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV-vis diffuse reflection spectra (DRS), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The results demonstrated that a homogeneous distribution of Ag NPs of 10 nm was attached onto the surface of the porous g-C₃N₄. The prepared Ag/porous g-C₃N₄ samples were applied for catalyzing the degradation of phenol in water under visible light irradiation. Porous g-C₃N₄ demonstrated an excellent support for the formation and dispersion of small uniform Ag NPs. When the weight percentage of Ag reaches 5%, the nanohybrid exhibits superior photocatalytic activities compared to bulk g-C₃N₄, porous g-C₃N₄, and 2% Ag/porous g-C₃N₄ hybrids. The enhanced photocatalytic performance is due to the synergic effect between Ag and porous g-C₃N₄, which suppressed the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.     

碳纳米管改性g-C3N4提升可见光催化降解性能

以尿素为原料,引入少量的多壁碳纳米管(CNT)改性,采用简便方法制备CNT/g-C_3N_4催化剂。利用扫描电镜(SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)、傅里叶红外光谱仪(FT-IR)、X射线衍射(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、紫外-可见-近红外分光光度计(UV-Vis-NIR Spectrophotometer)、荧光光谱(PL)等手段对CNT/g-C_3N_4催化剂进行表征。结果表明,g-C_3N_4与CNT之间的协同作用,影响了gC_3N_4的能带结构,增强了其对可见光的吸收,改善了光生载流子的分布,提高了电子-空穴对的分离效率。并以罗丹明B(RhB)水溶液模拟废水,在可见光下考察催化剂的光催化降解性能,发现当CNT掺杂量为0.1%(w/w)时效果最佳,降解速率常数是体相g-C_3N_4的3.1倍,且研究发现超氧自由基是该体系下的主要活性物种。     

Synthesis of eco-friendly porous g-C3N4/SiO2/SnO2 composite with excellent visible-light responsive photocatalysis

Forming eco-friendly heterojunction photocatalysts is excellent method to accelerate the separation rate of photogenerated charge carriers, which is attracting more and more attention. In this study, a novel and stable disordered porous g-C₃N₄/SiO₂/SnO₂ (DOP-CSiSn) heterojunction composites was fabricated by a sol-gel hard template method, and the optimal g-C₃N₄ doped ratio was adjusted in DOP-CSiSn. The DOP-CSiSn photocatalyst had the much larger specific surface area and disordered porous structure, which exhibited strong photocatalytic effect to degrade Rhodamine B (RhB), Methylene blue (MB) and Methyl orange (MO) under visible light. When the g-C₃N₄ doping content was 30 wt%, the highest photocatalytic activities were obtained, and the degradation rate of MB and MO were 99.73% and 95.58% after 50 min, respectively. Degradation rate of RhB was 95.10% after 90 min. Photocatalytic degradation rate of organic pollutants were still more than 90% after six time consecutive cycles, the composite had wonderful stability and potential value in environmental purification.     

Fe掺杂g-C3N4的制备及其可见光催化性能

以硝酸铁和三聚氰胺为原料制备不同含铁量的Fe 掺杂石墨氮化碳（g-C₃N₄）. 采用X 射线衍射光谱（XRD）、紫外-可见（UV-Vis）光谱、傅里叶变换红外（FT-IR）光谱、电感耦合等离子体-原子发射光谱（ICP-AES）、荧光（PL）光谱、X光电子能谱（XPS）等分析手段对制备的催化剂进行了表征. 结果表明,铁以离子形式镶嵌在g-C₃N₄的结构单元中,影响了g-C₃N₄的能带结构,增加了g-C₃N₄对可见光的吸收,降低了光生电子-空穴对的复合几率. 以染料罗丹明B的降解为探针反应系统研究了不同含铁量对g-C₃N₄在可见光下催化性能的影响. 结果表明,m（Fe）/m（g-C₃N₄）=0.14%时,制备的Fe 掺杂g-C₃N₄表现出最佳的光催化性能,120 min 内罗丹明B的降解率高达99.7%,速率常数达到0.026 min^-1,是纯g-C₃N₄的3.2 倍. 以叔丁醇、对苯醌、乙二胺四乙酸二钠为自由基（·OH）、自由基（O₂^-·）和空穴（h_VB⁺）的捕获剂,研究了光催化反应机理.     

碳化MoS2/掺硫g-C3N4异质结的合成及其在可见光下催化降解罗丹明B机理

为了进一步提高聚合物半导体类石墨相氮化碳（g-C₃N₄）降解有机物的活性,通过简单的水热法复合得到碳化MoS₂/掺硫g-C₃N₄异质结（MoSC/S-CN）,并在可见光下研究其罗丹明B （RhB）的降解性能。结果表明,相较于纯g-C₃N₄,最优化的MoSC/S-CN样品对可见光的吸收范围得到明显拓宽,并且在100 min内对RhB的降解效率为92.5%,比纯g-C₃N₄性能提高68.83%。一系列的结构和光学性质表明,掺硫后再进一步与碳化MoS₂耦合可以协同作用于g-C₃N₄,改善g-C₃N₄的能带结构,加速光生电子空穴对的分离,有效提高光催化活性。     

Combination of Ag2CrO4 and AgI semiconductors with g-C3N4: Novel nanocomposites with substantially improved photocatalytic performance under visible light

Novel g-C₃N₄/Ag₂CrO₄/AgI nanocomposites with improved photocatalytic performance under visible light were synthesized by consecutive deposition of Ag₂CrO₄ and AgI semiconductors over g-C₃N₄ sheets by refluxing method. The synthesized g-C₃N₄/Ag₂CrO₄/AgI photocatalysts were fully characterized by XRD, EDX, SEM, TEM, UV–vis DRS, TGA, FT-IR, and PL instruments. Photocatalytic performance of g-C₃N₄/Ag₂CrO₄/AgI (30%) nanocomposite for degradation of RhB was 27.9, 4.0, and 3.1 folds greater than those of the g-C₃N₄, g-C₃N₄/Ag₂CrO₄ (20%), and g-C₃N₄/AgI (30%) photocatalysts, respectively. The substantially increased photocatalytic performance was related to efficient retardation of the charge carriers from recombination and more absorbing of visible light, due to the synergistic effects of Ag₂CrO₄ and AgI on g-C₃N₄. The photocatalytic performance of the ternary nanocomposite did not considerably change after several cycles, indicating that the ternary nanocomposite is stable and it could be reused in successive runs.     

g-C3N4/Ag/TiO2复合材料的构筑及其光催化性能（英文）

以合成的g-C3N4纳米片和Ag/TiO2空心微球为原料,采用机械搅拌的方法构筑了g-C3N4/Ag/TiO2三元复合光催化剂。采用X射线衍射(XRD)、傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)、扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、紫外-可见光漫反射(UV-Vis DRS)和光致发光光谱(PL)对g-C3N4/Ag/TiO2进行了表征。研究表明,g-C3N4/Ag/TiO2是由Ag/TiO2微球和g-C3N4纳米片复合而成的。与TiO2相比,其可见光响应范围延长,光生载流子的分离速率加快。在室温下,用降解罗丹明B的反应考察了g-C3N4/Ag/TiO2的可见光催化活性。研究表明,光照180 min时,g-C3N4(0.5%)/Ag/TiO2显示了最高的光催化活性(91.9%),分别是TiO2和Ag/TiO2的7.5和1.8倍。光催化活性的提高与合理的异质结构建和Ag的导电性能有关。     

A simple and rapid route for synthesizing the nanosized g-C3N4 materials with narrow bandgap and their photocatalytic activity

The graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) materials with many intriguing properties have attracted much attention in photocatalysis. The photocatalytic activity of g-C₃N₄ is hindered by serious aggregation and limited exposed active sites. Herein is shown that nanosized g-C₃N₄ can be simply obtained by a superfast high-pressure homogenization approach. The high-pressure homogenization treatment can provide strong force to cut and/or to exfoliate the bulk g-C₃N₄ into nanosized g-C₃N₄ with good dispersion. Moreover, choosing different solvents during treatment can cause a different surface structure of as-prepared nanosized g-C₃N₄. In addition, the narrow bandgap properties, the high photogenerated charge carrier separation, and the transport abilities are achieved in as-prepared nanosized g-C₃N₄ because of the retaining conjugated C₃N₄ system. Specifically, the photocatalytic activities of as-prepared nanosized g-C₃N₄ have been significantly enhanced in terms of degradation of organic dye Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation (10 times higher than that of bulk g-C₃N₄). These findings can provide a promising and simple approach to the exfoliation, nanonization, and surface functionalization of 2D layered materials.     

Synthesis and characterization of g-C3N4/BiVO4 composite photocatalysts with improved visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance

Novel visible-light-driven g-C₃N₄/BiVO₄ composite photocatalysts were fabricated via sol–gel and simple mixing and heating methods. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric, Fourier transform infrared, transmission electron microscope, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectra. The results indicated that BiVO₄ was well dispersed on g-C₃N₄ sheet and an interaction between g-C₃N₄ and BiVO₄ was confirmed, which were facile to the electron transfer from g-C₃N₄ to BiVO₄ species. The mechanism was further induced to the heterojunction effect to improve the photocatalytic efficiency. The g-C₃N₄/BiVO₄ heterojunction at a weight ratio of 80 % calcined at 500 °C exhibited the most excellent photocatalytic ability for RhB decolorization under visible-light irradiation (λ > 420 nm) which was extraordinary more active than that of pure components.     

Photocatalytic Activity Improvement of g-C3N4 under Visible Light by Optimizing Preparation Conditions

Graphite-like C₃N₄ (g-C₃N₄) is ané cient visible-light-driven photocatalyst which is com-monly used in pollutant degradation. The photoreactivity of g-C₃N₄ depends on the prepa-ration conditions to a large extent. In this work, we linked the preparation conditions of g-C₃N₄ to its stability and photocatalytic activity through dye photodegradation experi-ments and sensitivity mathematical analyses. The sensitivity mathematical analyses show that the effect of calcination temperature is more significant than calcination time on the photoreactivity of g-C₃N₄. The photocatalytic activity of optimized g-C₃N₄ in rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under visible light was 100 times higher than that of non-optimized one. The enhanced performance can be attributed to the increased specific surface area of g-C₃N₄ and the increased migration velocity of photogenerated electron-hole pairs on the surface. This work deepens the understanding of the relation between preparation conditions and the charateristics of g-C₃N₄, and provides an extremely simple method for significantly improving the photoreactivity of g-C₃N₄.     

Dual cocatalysts decorated three dimensionally ordered mesoporous g-C3N4 with homogeneous wall thickness for enhanced photocatalytic performance

Making several components be more intimate interfacial contacts in the photocatalyst is an efficient strategy to improve the separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carries and enhance the photocatalytic performance in the visible light region. In this work, a promising photocatalyst was fabricated by loading of Au nanoparticles and Cd_(0.58)Zn_(0.42)S nanoparticles onto the three dimensionally ordered mesoporous g-C₃N₄ material (Au/3DOM CN/Cd_(0.58)Zn_(0.42)S) via two-step synthesis method to significantly intensify the transfer capability of charge. The results of characterization demonstrate that Au/3DOM CN/Cd_(0.58)Zn_(0.42)S photocatalyst possesses the intimate interfacial contacts of three components and homogeneous wall thickness of 3DOM g-C₃N₄ framework, and these properties give Au/3DOM CN/Cd_(0.58)Zn_(0.42)S photocatalyst an ability that it can harvest a wider range of visible light and endow it superior photocatalytic activities for hydrogen evolution from water splitting and RhB degradation. Finally, a possible mechanism was proposed based on the photoelectrochemical measurement. This work would provide a new strategy to design and fabricate g-C₃N₄-based with 3DOM architecture materials with superior photocatalytic activity.     

Gold/monolayer graphitic carbon nitride plasmonic photocatalyst for ultrafast electron transfer in solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion

Gold (Au) plasmonic nanoparticles were grown evenly on monolayer graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) nanosheets via a facile oil-bath method. The photocatalytic activity of the Au/monolayer g-C₃N₄ composites under visible light was evaluated by photocatalytic hydrogen evolution and environmental treatment. All of the Au/monolayer g-C₃N₄ composites showed better photocatalytic performance than that of monolayer g-C₃N₄ and the 1% Au/monolayer g-C₃N₄ composite displayed the highest photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of the samples. The remarkable photocatalytic activity was attributed largely to the successful introduction of Au plasmonic nanoparticles, which led to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect. The SPR effect enhanced the efficiency of light harvesting and induced an efficient hot electron transfer process. The hot electrons were injected from the Au plasmonic nanoparticles into the conduction band of monolayer g-C₃N₄. Thus, the Au/monolayer g-C₃N₄ composites possessed higher migration and separation efficiencies and lower recombination probability of photogenerated electron-hole pairs than those of monolayer g-C₃N₄. A photocatalytic mechanism for the composites was also proposed.     

单分散g-C3N4量子点修饰一维棒状BiPO4微晶的合成及其对光催化活性增强机理

利用水热法合成了一维棒状BiPO₄微晶,在此基础上采用浸渍-被烧法进行g-C₃N₄量子点表面修饰获得新颖的g-C₃N₄/BiPO₄异质结。借助X射线衍射(XRD)、场发射扫描电镜(FE-SEM)、透射电镜(HRTEM)、能谱(EDS)、紫外-可见漫反射(UV-Vis-DRS)等测试手段对所得样品的相组成、形貌和谱学特征进行了表征。选择罗丹明B(RhB)和苯酚作为模型污染物研究了所得在可见光下的催化活性。结果表明,样品16%(w/w) g-C₃N₄/BiPO₄对RhB降解的速率常数分别是纯和的g-C₃N₄和BiPO₄的16倍和4.6倍。g-C₃N₄量子点与BiPO₄之间形成异质结,抑制了光生电子-空穴对的复合,从而提高了催化剂的活性。自由基捕获实验进一步表明,超氧负离子自由基(·O₂-)是催化降解RhB和苯酚的主要活性物种。     

ZnO-based ternary nanocomposite for decolorization of methylene blue by photocatalytic dynamic membrane

In this article, novel Ag–ZnO/g-C₃N₄/GO ternary nanocomposites were prepared via co-precipitation method by 1%w Ag, 50% w g-C₃N₄, 10% w GO concentration and applied in dynamic membranes. The characteristics of Ag–ZnO/g-C₃N₄/GO nanocomposite were evaluated by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray map, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photocatalyst. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue was investigated under visible light. The photocatalytic efficiency of 93.43% for methylene blue degradation was obtained for Ag–ZnO/g-C₃N₄/GO nanocomposite after 50 min of irradiation, which was remarkably higher than that of pure ZnO, bare g-C₃N₄, Ag–ZnO, and Ag–ZnO/g-C₃N₄ at the same irradiation time. Likewise, in self-forming and pre-coated membranes, ternary nanocomposites can play a vital role in the membrane surface properties, as well as their decolorization performance. The rejection of methylene blue was 30% in pure polyethersulfone membrane, while the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue in Ag–ZnO/g-C₃N₄/GO nanocomposites was 88.46% and 98.86% after 10 and 15 min of irradiation in both self-forming and pre-coated dynamic membranes, respectively. Experimental results show that the dynamic membrane possesses a higher ability for degradation of MB in a shorter period of time than the static system.     

Enhanced photocatalytic H2 production over dual-cocatalyst-modified g-C3N4 heterojunctions

Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were deposited on the surface of g-C₃N₄ (CN) by an in situ calcination method. NiS was successfully loaded onto the composites by a hydrothermal method. The results showed that the 10 wt%-NiS/1.0 wt%-Ag/CN composite exhibits excellent photocatalytic H₂ generation performance under solar-light irradiation. An H₂ production rate of 9.728 mmol·g^?1·h^?1 was achieved, which is 10.82-, 3.45-, and 2.77-times higher than those of pure g-C₃N₄, 10 wt%-NiS/CN, and 1.0 wt%-Ag/CN composites, respectively. This enhanced photocatalytic H₂ generation can be ascribed to the co-decoration of Ag and NiS on the surface of g-C₃N₄, which efficiently improves light harvesting capacity, photogenerated charge carrier separation, and photocatalytic H₂ production kinetics. Thus, this study demonstrates an effective strategy for constructing excellent g-C₃N₄-related composite photocatalysts for H₂ production by using different co-catalysts.     

Z-scheme TiO2/g-C3N4 composites prepared by hydrothermal assisted thermal polymerization with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

Melamine was added to the precursor of TiO₂, then TiO₂ prepared by hydrothermal, while melamine was modified. Subsequently, a series of Z-scheme TiO₂/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction composites were successfully synthesized by simple calcination. The morphology and structure of samples were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, UV–vis DRS, SEM, TEM, PL and BET. The photocatalytic activity of these samples has been investigated by degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB), and results indicated that photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared samples was greatly influenced by the content of titanium tetrabutoxide in precursors and the hydrothermal time. The degradation rate of TiO₂/g-C₃N₄-1 to RhB was the best, which was 5.05-fold of pure TiO₂ (19.61%) and 2.25-fold of bulk g-C₃N₄ (44.06%), respectively. The trapping experiment results showed that ^·O₂^? and h⁺ were main active species during degradation of RhB. The photocatalytic activity of the sample did not decrease significantly after 4 cycles. The unique Z-scheme heterojunction between TiO₂ and g-C₃N₄ improved photocatalytic activity of the samples under visible light.

     

Novel PtPd alloy nanoparticle-decorated g-C3N4 nanosheets with enhanced photocatalytic activity for H2 evolution under visible light irradiation

PtPd bimetallic alloy nanoparticle (NP)-modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) nanosheet photocatalysts were synthesized via chemical deposition precipitation. Characterization of the photocatalytic H₂ evolution of the g-C₃N₄ nanosheets shows that it was significantly enhanced when PtPd alloy NPs were introduced as a co-catalyst. The 0.2 wt% PtPd/g-C₃N₄ composite photocatalyst gave a maximum H₂ production rate of 1600.8 μmol g^–1 h^–1. Furthermore, when K₂HPO₄ was added to the reaction system, the H₂ production rate increased to 2885.0 μmol g^–1 h^–1. The PtPd/g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst showed satisfactory photocatalytic stability and was able to maintain most of its photocatalytic activity after four experimental photocatalytic cycles. In addition, a possible mechanism for the enhanced photocatalytic activity was proposed and verified by various photoelectric techniques. These results demonstrate that the synergistic effect between PtPd and g-C₃N₄ helps to greatly improve the photocatalytic activity of the composite photocatalyst.