A one-pot, solid-state route for realizing highly visible light active Na-doped gC{sub 3}N{sub 4} photocatalysts
- Division of Computational Physics, Institute for Computational Science, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City 70000 (Viet Nam)
The visible light photocatalytic activity of graphitic carbon nitride (gC{sub 3}N{sub 4}), a promising metal-free photocatalytic material, is rather low, and is not as good as expected. Herein, to realize improved photocatalytic activity, sodium-doped gC{sub 3}N{sub 4} (Na-gC{sub 3}N{sub 4}) is prepared through a novel solid-state process based on the thermal polycondensation of urea in the presence of sodium chloride and ammonium chloride. The proposed solid-state process is simple, requires no solvent, and provides a general route for rapid and large-scale synthesis of metal-doped gC{sub 3}N{sub 4}. The Na species exist in + 1 oxidation state and bind N atoms in the nitride ring of gC{sub 3}N{sub 4}. The photocatalytic activity improvement of gC{sub 3}N{sub 4} for the mineralization of 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) under visible light is seen after the Na doping. The improved photocatalytic activity is due to increased absorption of light, increased separation of charge carriers, stronger oxidation ability of valance band holes, and increased specific surface area. The typical photocatalytic activity of 0.6 wt% Na-gC{sub 3}N{sub 4} for the EE2 mineralization with an initial EE2 concentration of 1 mg/L and a catalyst concentration of 1 g/L is 95.7% within 2 h of visible light irradiation. Under identical experimental conditions, the EE2 mineralization by pristine gC{sub 3}N{sub 4} is only 23.5%. - Graphical abstract: Highly visible light active Na-gC{sub 3}N{sub 4} photocatalysts were simply synthesized through a novel one-pot route based on the thermal polycondensation of urea. The doped Na species plays a critical role in improving the photocatalytic activity. Display Omitted - Highlights: • A new solid-state route is introduced to obtain visible light active Na-doped gC{sub 3}N{sub 4}. • The proposed synthesis route is fast, simple, and highly scalable. • Na doping leads to improved light absorption capability. • Na doping leads to improved separation of charge carriers. • Na doping leads to improved photocatalytic activity under visible light.
- OSTI ID:
- 22742079
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Solid State Chemistry, Vol. 257; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2017 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0022-4596
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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