Controllable synthesis of CeO₂/g-C₃N₄ composites and their applications in the environment

Abstract

This research has developed a photocatalytic reactor that includes circulating water, light, and a temperature control system. CeO2/g-C3N4 composites with high photocatalytic activity and stability were synthesized by a simple and facile hydrothermal method. The obtained photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that in the CeO2/g-C3N4 composites, the CeO2 nanoparticles were homogeneously cubic in shape (from 3 to 10 nm) and were evenly dispersed on the surface of the g-C3N4. At constant temperature (30 °C), 5% CeO2/g-C3N4 photocatalyst showed the best photocatalytic activity for degrading organic dye methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic reaction for degrading MB followed first-order kinetics and 5% CeO2/g-C3N4 exhibited a higher apparent rate of 1.2686 min(-1), 7.8 times higher than that of the pure g-C3N4 (0.1621 min(-1)). In addition, it was found that 5% CeO2/g-C3N4 had a new property that it could be used as a sensor for the determination of trace amounts of Cu(2+). Such unique design and one-step synthesis, with an exposed high-activity surface, are important for both technical applications and theoretical investigations.

Calcination Method Synthesis of SnO2/g-C3N4 Composites for a High-Performance Ethanol Gas Sensing Application

“…Zhang et al have developed a novel fluorescence sensor based on a g-C 3 N 4 /MnO 2 sandwich nanocomposite for the rapid and selective sensing of glutathione [33]. Moreover, CeO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 composites with high photocatalytic activity have been synthesized successfully [34]. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, SnO 2 /g-C 3 N 4- based sensors have yet not been reported in the literature.…”

Direct Growth of CuO Nanorods on Graphitic Carbon Nitride with Synergistic Effect on Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate

“…With higher photocatalytic ability, the prepared composite greatly improved the degradation of methylene blue. Additionally, g-C 3 N 4 /CeO 2 was prepared for the evaluation of its potential application in the hydrogen production by photocatalysis, and degradation of methylene blue [14,15]. g-C 3 N 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 was also studied to explore its excellent properties [16,17,18,19,20].…”

Enhancement of photocatalytic activity of combustion-synthesized CeO2/C3N4 nanoparticles

“…Different from the previous report on the synthesis of CeO 2 /C 3 N 4 using g-C 3 N 4 as precursor [27,28], herein, we report a facile and economical route to directly fabricate CeO 2 /C 3 N 4 in one step with controllable small size and high photocatalytic activity. The molar ratio of CO(NH 2 ) 2 to CeCl 3 in the composites is optimized in terms of maximizing the photocatalytic activity for photodegradation of MB.…”

“…It is reported that CeO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 composites prepared by a mixing-calcination route using a series of different amount of CeO 2 with a suitable amount of C 3 N 4 display increasing photocatalytic activity [27]. Recently, CeO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 composites synthesized by hydrothermal method exhibit high photocatalytic activity for degrading methylene blue (MB), which is ascribed to the synergistic effects of the effective combination of ultrafine CeO 2 cubes on g-C 3 N 4 , high crystallinity of the sample, and the facile optical properties [28].…”