Enhancement of visible-light photocatalytic activities of BiVO4 coupled with g-C3N4 prepared using different precursors

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 25; no. 32; pp. 32466 - 32477
• Main Authors: Cui, Peipei, Hu, Yun, Zheng, Mengmeng, Wei, Chaohai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.11.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bismuth oxides; Carbon nitride; Catalytic activity; Chemical synthesis; Composite materials; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Evaporation; Heterojunctions; Irradiation; Light irradiation; Melamine; Organic chemistry; Oxidation; Photocatalysis; Photodegradation; Precursors; Pyrolysis; Research Article; Substrates; Urea; Vanadates; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; g-C; Precursor; N; Photocatalytic oxidation; BiVO; Heterojunction
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-018-3119-3

Graphitic-like carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) photocatalyst was synthesized by a facile chemical pyrolysis method, which was built on the self-condensation of different precursors to generate g-C 3 N 4 , e.g., melamine, urea, and thiocarbamide. And the different precursors produced a great influence on the photocatalytic activities of g-C 3 N 4 . Heterojunctions of g-C 3 N 4 and BiVO 4 were synthesized using a facile solvent evaporation method. The formation of BiVO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 composites were confirmed by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, XPS, and UV-Vis DRS. The photocatalytic activities for RhB degradation were evaluated under visible-light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of g-C 3 N 4 prepared by urea was higher than that of g-C 3 N 4 prepared by melamine and thiocarbamide, which was attributed to its favorable dispersibility, larger specific surface area, and higher oxidation capacity. The heterojunction composites exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than pure g-C 3 N 4 or BiVO 4 . The results showed obvious removal efficiency for RhB, and the optimal sample with a BiVO 4 content of 10% exhibited higher efficiency than pure g-C 3 N 4 and BiVO 4 , and 10 wt%BiVO 4 /CN-U showed the highest photocatalytic activity. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of BiVO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 composite can be attributed to the intimate coupling between the two host substrates, resulting in an efficient charge separation.