Construction of nitrogen vacant g-C3N4 nanosheet supported Ag3PO4 nanoparticle Z-scheme photocatalyst for improved visible-light photocatalytic activity

Abstract

The superior photocatalytic activity of semiconductor-based photocatalytic materials has attracted great attention. In this work, a series of novel Ag 3 PO 4 /g-C 3 N 4−x (APO/CNx) composites with the Z-scheme structure were fabricated through a facile precipitation method. B naphthol, a typical phenolic compound, was selected to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of all as-prepared photocatalysts. The obtained APO/CNx composites exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for degradation of B naphthol under visible-light irradiation. Experimental results showed that the degradation rate toward B naphthol could reach to 90.5% for 180 min, which was almost 3.66 times higher than pure g-C 3 N 4 , indicating that the presence of nitrogen vacancies and Z-scheme structure could efficiently improve the photocatalytic performance of pure g-C 3 N 4 . Furthermore, the results of trapping experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy manifest that •O 2 − and •OH radicals were the predominant active substances for B naphthol degradation, and the possible mechanism of improved photocatalytic performance was elucidated. This work will provide an innovative perspective for constructing Z-scheme photocatalysts for the application of photocatalytic in the field of wastewater treatment.