A self-cleaning surface treatment has been developed, which is prepared by an eco-friendly and effective two-step method. First, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was deposited on the wood surface by vacuum impregnation, followed by heat treatment. The morphology, weight change, dimensional stability, crystal and micro structure, and elemental composition of the wood samples were determined by photography, weighting, swelling rate determination, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDXA). Moreover, contact angle measurements and photocatalytic degradation experiments were carried out with Rhodamine B as the target. It was demonstrated that g-C3N4is successfully deposited on the wood surface, which lowers the heat treatment temperature and renders photocatalytic properties to the coating. The heat treatment at around 210°C strengthened the immobility of g-C3N4and increased the surface hydrophobicity. Moreover, the better photocatalytic ability of the surface is accompanied with self-cleaning effects.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.