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Vol. 12 (2020)

Nitrogen-doped Carbon Nanospheres-Modified Graphitic Carbon Nitride with Outstanding Photocatalytic Activity

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-019-0358-x
Qiaoran Liu
Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Hao Tian
State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, People’s Republic of China
Zhenghua Dai
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, People’s Republic of China
Hongqi Sun
School of Engineering, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
Jian Liu
State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, People’s Republic of China
Zhimin Ao
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, People’s Republic of China
Shaobin Wang
School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
Chen Han
Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Shaomin Liu
Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia

Corresponding Author: Shaomin Liu

Shaomin.Liu@curtin.edu.au

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 12 (2020), Article Number: 24

Abstract

Metals and metal oxides are widely used as photo/electro-catalysts for environmental remediation. However, there are many issues related to these metal-based catalysts for practical applications, such as high cost and detrimental environmental impact due to metal leaching. Carbon-based catalysts have the potential to overcome these limitations. In this study, monodisperse nitrogen-doped carbon nanospheres (NCs) were synthesized and loaded onto graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4, GCN) via a facile hydrothermal method for photocatalytic removal of sulfachloropyridazine (SCP). The prepared metal-free GCN-NC exhibited remarkably enhanced efficiency in SCP degradation. The nitrogen content in NC critically influences the physicochemical properties and performances of the resultant hybrids. The optimum nitrogen doping concentration was identified at 6.0 wt%. The SCP removal rates can be improved by a factor of 4.7 and 3.2, under UV and visible lights, by the GCN-NC composite due to the enhanced charge mobility and visible light harvesting. The mechanism of the improved photocatalytic performance and band structure alternation were further investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The DFT results confirm the high capability of the GCN-NC hybrids to activate the electron–hole pairs by reducing the band gap energy and efficiently separating electron/hole pairs. Superoxide and hydroxyl radicals are subsequently produced, leading to the efficient SCP removal.


Highlights:


1 Monodisperse nitrogen-doped carbon nanospheres were synthesized and loaded onto graphitic carbon nitride and the composites show outstanding photocatalytic activity.
2 Improved sulfachloropyridazine degradation is consistent with density functional theory calculation.

Keywords

N-doping Carbon sphere Graphitic carbon nitride Photocatalysis Degradation
Liu, Qiaoran, Hao Tian, Zhenghua Dai, Hongqi Sun, Jian Liu, Zhimin Ao, Shaobin Wang, Chen Han, and Shaomin Liu. 2020. “Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanospheres-Modified Graphitic Carbon Nitride With Outstanding Photocatalytic Activity”. Nano-Micro Letters 12 (January):24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-019-0358-x.
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