Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation Activity of BiFeO3 Microspheres by Decoration with g-C3N4 Nanoparticles

Abstract

In this work, the g-C 3 N 4 nanoparticles decorated BiFeO 3 microspheres composites (g-C 3 N 4 / BiFeO 3 ) were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of g-C 3 N 4 nanoparticles together with BiFeO 3 microspheres. The SEM and HRTEM observation indicate that the C 3 N 4 nanoparticles with size of 30-50 nm are well decorated on the surface of BiFeO 3 microspheres. The photocatalytic activities of the samples are investigated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under the irradiation of simulated sunlight. The as-prepared g-C 3 N 4 /BiFeO 3 composites exhibit remarkable enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with bare BiFeO 3 . More importantly, the photocataltic performance of the composites is further confirmed by the degradation of colorless phenol. Furthermore, the favorable catalytic stability of composites is demonstrated through the recycling photocatalytic experiment. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of g-C 3 N 4 /BiFeO 3 composites is mainly attributed to the separation of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs, resulting from the migration of the photoinduced charge between g-C 3 N 4 nanoparticles and BiFeO 3 . A possible photocatalytic mechanism for dye degradation over g-C 3 N 4 /BiFeO 3 composite is proposed based on the active species trapping experiment, revealing that the photogenerated hole (h + ) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) are regarded as the major active species for the decomposition of dye, while hydroxyl radicals (•OH) plays a minor role in the photocatalytic reaction.

One Step Synthesis of Tetragonal-CuBi2O4/Amorphous-BiFeO3 Heterojunction with Improved Charge Separation and Enhanced Photocatalytic Properties

“…As shown in Figure 8, the MO concentration obviously decreased under dark, especially for the dye solution with A-BFO added as the photocatalyst. This is probably due to the strong physical absorption of dye on the surface of BiFeO3, which has been reported previously [51]. Among all our samples, A-BFO showed the highest BET surface area (80.39 m 2 /g, see Table 1).…”

Silver-Loaded Carbon and Phosphorous Co-Doped Boron Nitride Quantum Dots (Ag@CP-BNQDs) for Efficient Organic Waste Removal: Theoretical and Experimental Investigations

“…The band edge energy of valance band (EVB) was calculated to be 2.1 eV and the band edge energy of conduction band (ECB) is −0.4 eV. The Mulliken electronegativity rules were utilized in this calculation. ,,− …”

g-C3N4/Ca2Fe2O5 heterostructures for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of organic effluents under sunlight

“…These studies imply that 50% of g-C 3 N 4 in CFO provides an optimal composition to form efficient heterostructure photocatalysts. An excessive g-C 3 N 4 content in g-C 3 N 4 /CFO could cover the surface of CFO, which reduces the photon absorption of heterostructure and also the formation of heterojunction between g-C 3 N 4 and CFO could be suppressed by the inclusion of excessive g-C 3 N 4 due to aggregation phenomenon 49 . Less quantity of g-C 3 N 4 is a problem for efficient photodegradation, which may not suppress electron–hole recombination efficiently, hence the optimum content of g-C 3 N 4 loading plays a vital role in photodegradation performance of heterostructures.…”