In-situ synthesis of g-C3N4-P25 TiO2 composite with enhanced visible light photoactivity

• Published in: Journal of nanoparticle research : an interdisciplinary forum for nanoscale science and technology 2014-10, Vol.16 (10), Article 2632
• Main Authors: Zhu, Honglei, Chen, Daimei, Yue, Du, Wang, Zhihong, Ding, Hao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Catalytic methods; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Exact sciences and technology; Inorganic Chemistry; Lasers; Materials Science; Methods of nanofabrication; Nanocrystalline materials; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Nanotechnology; Optical Devices; Optics; Photonics; Physical Chemistry; Physics; Research Paper
• ISSN: 1388-0764; 1572-896X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11051-014-2632-7

In situ synthesis method is used to synthesize g-C 3 N 4 -P25 composite photocatalysts with different mass rations. The experiment result shows that P25 particles with diameter at range of 20–30 nm were embedded homogenously in the sheets of g-C 3 N 4 . Coupling g-C 3 N 4 with P25 can not only improve the visible light absorption, but also improve the visible light photocatalytic activity of P25. The g-C 3 N 4 -P25 nanocomposite has the higher photocatalytic activity than g-C 3 N 4 under visible light. The optimal g-C 3 N 4 content with the highest photocatalytic activity is determined to be 84 %, which is almost 3.3 times higher than that of individual g-C 3 N 4 under the visible light. The enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity could be ascribed to the formation of g-C 3 N 4 and TiO 2 heteojunction, which results in an efficient separation and transfer of photo-induced charge carriers. The electron spin resonance results show that the  · O 2 − radicals are main active species for g-C 3 N 4 and the g-C 3 N 4 -P25 nanocomposites.