Issue 16, 2020

Preparation of a g-C3N4/Co3O4/Ag2O ternary heterojunction nanocomposite and its photocatalytic activity and mechanism

Abstract

Development of semiconductor catalysts is an attractive way to solve energy shortage and pollution problems. In this work, a kind of ternary heterojunction nanocomposite g-C3N4/Co3O4/Ag2O was successfully prepared, whose morphology, structure and composition were characterized by TEM, EDS, XRD and XPS analysis. Photocatalytic experiments prove that g-C3N4/Co3O4/Ag2O shows good photodegradation efficiency (98.09%) for RhB under visible light. The free radical capture experiment indicates that the hole, superoxide radical and hydroxyl radical all contribute to the photocatalytic process. In addition, it is found that introducing Ag2O into the composite can efficiently promote the formation of H2O2via the reduction of O2. An electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) study further confirms that the value of electron transfer during the ORR is 2.07 for g-C3N4/Co3O4/Ag2O, indicating the promoted two-electron O2 reduction reaction to H2O2. Based on the above results and energy band structures of semiconductors, a possible photocatalysis mechanism is proposed.

Graphical abstract: Preparation of a g-C3N4/Co3O4/Ag2O ternary heterojunction nanocomposite and its photocatalytic activity and mechanism

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
04 Mar 2020
Accepted
18 Mar 2020
First published
19 Mar 2020

New J. Chem., 2020,44, 6261-6268

Preparation of a g-C3N4/Co3O4/Ag2O ternary heterojunction nanocomposite and its photocatalytic activity and mechanism

Q. Xu, P. Zhao, Y. Shi, J. Li, W. You, L. Zhang and X. Sang, New J. Chem., 2020, 44, 6261 DOI: 10.1039/D0NJ01122C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements