Photocatalytic Activities of g-C3N4 (CN) Treated with Nitric Acid Vapor for the Degradation of Pollutants in Wastewater

• Published in: Materials Vol. 16; no. 6; p. 2177
• Main Authors: Li, Ruishuo, Wang, Bingquan, Wang, Rui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 08.03.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Breaking down; Carbon nitride; Catalytic activity; degradation; Energy consumption; Experiments; Functional groups; g-C3N4; Light; Morphology; Nitric acid; Oxidation; Photocatalysis; photocatalytic activity; Pollutants; Rhodamine; rhodamine B; Spectrum analysis; tetracycline hydrochloride; Valence band; Vapors; Wastewater; United States > US; China
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma16062177

In this article, we reported a novel setup treatment using nitric acid vapor to treat g-C3N4 (CN). By treatment with nitric acid vapour, the basic structure of the CN has not been destroyed. These adoptive treatments enhanced the photocatalytic performance of CN and were reflected in the elimination of rhodamine B (RhB) as well as tetracycline hydrochloride (TC). In comparison to CN, CN-6 demonstrated the highest photocatalytic yield for the breakdown of RhB (99%, in 20 min). Moreover, the excellent reuse of CN-6 for breaking down RhB was also demonstrated. This clearly demonstrated that treatment with nitric acid vapor promoted a blue shift, positively extended its valence band position, and increased the oxidizability of the holes. This also caused CN to disperse better into the aqueous phase, introducing more oxygen-containing functional groups. Thus, treatment with nitric acid vapor has the potential to be applied to delaminate the CN in order to enhance photocatalytic activity.