Construction of 2D/0D/2D face-to-face contact g-C3N4@Au@Bi4Ti3O12 heterojunction photocatalysts for promising dye degradation

Abstract

Herein a new type of 2D/0D/2D face-to-face contact g-C 3 N 4 @Au@Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 heterojunction photocatalysts have been developed. The ternary composite photocatalysts are constructed by coupling Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 nanosheets with g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets face-to-face and sandwiching Au nanoparticles between Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 and g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets. The as-prepared g-C 3 N 4 @Au@Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 composite photocatalysts were systematically investigated by various characterization techniques including XRD, UV–vis DRS, FTIR, SEM, TEM and XPS. The degradation experiments were carried out by removing rhodamine B (RhB) from water under simulated sunlight. It is found that the g-C 3 N 4 @Au@Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 composite photocatalysts exhibit much enhanced photodegradation performance when compared with bare Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 and g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets, and moreover they exhibit excellent photocatalytic stability in recycling dye degradation. The underlying photodegradation mechanism of the g-C 3 N 4 @Au@Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 composite photocatalysts was systematically investigated and discussed.