In Situ Growth of CdS Nanoparticles Between g‐C₃N₄ Layers for Photocatalytic Reduction of Nitrobenzene

Abstract

Photocatalysis technology is green and sustainable for reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline. However, the photocatalytic activity of pure carbon nitride is limited by the high photogenerated carrier recombination rates. Carbon nitride nanosheets (CNN) were prepared by prepolymerization and high temperature calcination and cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles were in situ grown between the layers of carbon nitride for facilitating the separation and transfer of charges. As a result, the optimal composite catalyst (CdS/CNN‐2) exhibited superior photocatalytic activity with nitrobenzene reduction rate of 83 % within 60 min. This work presents an effective strategy for designing catalysts for the photocatalytic reduction of nitrobenzene.