Enhanced Gas-Phase pollutant removal using Pt nanoparticle-modified exfoliated carbon nitride photocatalysts under UV and visible light

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2024-11, Vol.500, p.156948, Article 156948
• Main Authors: Mateos, Maria Jose, Hou, Heting, Rana, Adeem Ghaffar, Lao-Zea, Angela, Romero, Nuria, Sala, Xavier, Minceva, Mirjana, Suárez, Silvia, García-Antón, Jordi, Tasbihi, Minoo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: photocatalytic air treatment; Pt nanoparticles; UV-A and Vis light; VOCs
• ISSN: 1385-8947
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2024.156948

[Display omitted] •Graphitic carbon nitride’s tunability and light absorption make it ideal for environmentalair pollution remediation.•Platinum nanoparticles on carbon nitride achieve85 % trichloroethylene conversion under visible light.•Volatile Organic Compounds can be decomposed under low-power visible light irradiation.•Materials present high stability under the chosen operating conditions. Platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) have been prepared by the organometallic approach on the surface of exfoliated graphitic carbon nitride (exf-g-CN) with different metal loadings. Multi-technique characterization shows a good dispersion of Pt NPs on the surface of exf-g-CN with a narrow size distribution between 1.7–2.2 nm and a BET area of about 120 m2/g. The Pt NPs are mainly composed of platinum metal with a minor contribution of oxidic surface species. The effect of UV-A and Vis light of different wavelengths on the photocatalytic performance is investigated. The as-prepared hybrid materials show excellent photocatalytic activity for the decontamination of air from volatile organic compounds (VOCs, in particular trichloroethylene, C2HCl3) under low power visible light irradiation. The conversion value reaches a maximum close to 85 % at 405 nm Vis light for 0.5 wt.% Pt loading. At this level of Pt content, electron and hole recombination rates are suppressed according to photoluminescence analysis. Photonic efficiencies of around 0.3 % were achieved under Vis light. The optimised material shows high stability from 2,500 min of operation. XPS analysis suggests the crucial role of Pt/Pt2+ and chlorine species detected on used samples in the reaction rate and stability of the material.