A one-dimensional (1D) nanostructure having a porous network is an exceptional photocatalytic material to generate hydrogen (H2) and decontaminate wastewater using solar energy. In this report, we synthesized nanoporous 1D microrods of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) via a facile and template-free chemical approach at room temperature. The use of concentrated acids induced etching and lift-off because of strong oxidation and protonation. Compared with the bulk g-C3N4, the porous 1D microrod structure showed five times higher photocatalytic degradation performance toward methylene blue dye (MB) under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic H2 evolution of the 1D nanostructure (34 μmol g−1) was almost 26 times higher than that of the bulk g-C3N4 structure (1.26 μmol g−1). Additionally, the photocurrent stability of this nanoporous 1D morphology over 24 h indicated remarkable photocorrosion resistance. The improved photocatalytic activities were attributed to prolonged carrier lifetime because of its quantum confinement effect, effective separation and transport of charge carriers, and increased number of active sites from interconnected nanopores throughout the microrods. The present 1D nanostructure would be highly suited for photocatalytic water purification as well as water splitting devices. Finally, this facile and room temperature strategy to fabricate the nanostructures is very cost-effective.
Highly stable plasmonic potocatalysts based on Au, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) hybrids for effective degradation of organic pollutant and photoelectrchemical (PEC) water splitting.
Visible light-active bismuth oxychlorideÀreduced graphene oxide (BiOClÀRGO) composite photocatalysts were synthesised using a hydrothermal method at low temperature, and at a low cost. This approach reduced the recombination of electronÀhole pairs and thereby provided more efficient photocatalysts. The size of BiOCl structure was controlled by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) addition. Furthermore, formation of nanosized BiOCl sheets and BiOClÀRGO composites were confirmed by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, fieldemission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Fabricated BiOClÀRGO composite with PVP exhibited better photocatalytic activity than pure BiOCl grown with and without PVP towards degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). It was found that the composite photocatalyst degrades RhB completely within 310 min as compared with several hours for pure BiOCl. The improved photocatalytic performance of BiOClÀRGO composite was attributed to its high specific surface area (22.074 m 2 g ¡1 and existence of polar surfaces, compared with 9.831 m 2 g ¡1 for pure BiOCl). The analyses indicated that RGO helped to reduce recombination losses and improve electron transport. It also showed that presence of polar surfaces improved photocatalytic activity of BiOCl. Hence, BiOClÀRGO composite is a promising catalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants under visible light and could be used in applications such as water purification devices.
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