Improved performance of visible-light photocatalytic H2-production and Cr(VI) reduction by waste pigeon guano doped g-C3N4 nanosheets

• Published in: Journal of materials science & technology 2023-07, Vol.152, p.37-49
• Main Authors: Ke, Yangli, You, Qingliang, Ai, Jing, Yang, Xiaofang, Shang, Qigao, Liu, Yanyang, Wang, Dongsheng, Liao, Guiying
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cr(VI) reduction; g-C3N4 nanosheets; H2-production; Photocatalyst; Pigeon guano (PG) doping
• ISSN: 1005-0302; 1941-1162
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2023.01.006

•Waste pigeon guano was re-utilized as an ideal biomass adulterant.•Porous pigeon guano doped g-C3N4 nanosheets (CN-PG-S) was prepared successfully.•CN-PG-S shown great photocatalytic activity for H2-production and Cr(VI) reduction.•The synergistic effects of PG doping and nanosheet structure have been studied.•The possible mechanisms for H2-production and Cr(VI) reduction were proposed. In this study, waste pigeon guano (PG) was re-utilized as an ideal biomass adulterant to improve the photocatalytic activity of the pristine graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4). Waste PG and melamine were employed as precursors to fabricate a novel porous multielement-doped g-C3N4 (CN-PG-S) nanosheets photocatalyst via in situ thermal polycondensation coupled with thermal exfoliation strategy. The CN-PG-S owned abundant uniformly porous structures, superior conductivity, and excellent photocatalytic abilities, resulting in highly-efficient H2-production (1950 μmol g–1 h–1) and Cr(VI) reduction (99.1%) under visible light, which increased by 22.9-folds and 5.3-folds more than that of pristine g-C3N4. The non-metallic (P, S, and O) and metallic elements in CN-PG-S played a crucial role in expanding the visible-light absorption range and promoting the separation-migration of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. And the uniformly porous nanosheet structure of CN-PG-S shortens the diffusion paths of photogenerated carriers and exposes more active sites for photocatalytic reactions. This study proposed an eco-friendly resources integration strategy of waste PG to prepare excellent CN-PG-S photocatalysts for highly-efficient H2-production and Cr(VI) reduction.