Ag₂S nanoparticles anchored on P-doped g-C₃N₄: a novel 0D/2D p-n 2 heterojunction for superior photocatalytic inactivation of 3 multidrug-resistant E. coli

Abstract

Photocatalytic inactivation has been proved to be an effective strategy to eliminate pathogenic bacteria in water. Herein, a novel 0D/2D p-n heterojunction of Ag2S-anchored P-doped g-C3N4 (Ag2S/PCN) were constructed by a simple two-step process coupling one-pot calcination and ultrasonic-assisted synthesis. The photocatalytic performance of as-prepared Ag2S/PCN composites was investigated by inactivating multidrug-resistant E. coli under visible light irradiation. The results indicated that Ag2S/PCN-5 possessed outstanding photocatalytic inactivation activity and superior stability, which could completely inactivate 7.0-log E. coli cells within 60 min. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ag2S/PCN-5 was mainly attributed to the elevated visible-light response and improved production and transfer of photoexcited charges. In addition, the free radicals trapping experiments results revealed that h+ and •O2− were predominantly responsible for the efficient inactivation activity. Finally, according to the 0D/2D structure and energy band configuration analysis, the enhanced p-n type heterojunction photocatalytic inactivation mechanism of Ag2S/PCN was discussed in detail.

Efficient Rhodamine B removal by photocatalysis using polyacrylonitrile/Ag2S nanofibers prepared by combining electrospinning technology and facile gas–solid reaction

“…Thus, immobilizing Ag 2 S nanoparticles (NPs) onto an inert support such as carbon-based materials would be a great idea. [17][18][19] Electrospun polymer nanofiber membranes have become a popular support material in recent years because of their three-dimensional open structure, structural stability, ease of fabrication, high mechanical strength, high specific surface area, and flexibility in operation. 20 These characteristics make them ideally suited for loading nanoparticle-sized photocatalysts.…”

“…However, most of the previous studies used the nanoparticle form of Ag 2 S which tends to agglomerate into large clusters and requires complicated filtration, separation, and recovery processes, so it is difficult to be applied in practice. Thus, immobilizing Ag 2 S nanoparticles (NPs) onto an inert support such as carbon‐based materials would be a great idea 17–19 . Electrospun polymer nanofiber membranes have become a popular support material in recent years because of their three‐dimensional open structure, structural stability, ease of fabrication, high mechanical strength, high specific surface area, and flexibility in operation 20 .…”