In this research work, the ZIF-67-coupled plasmonic-gold-incorporated
porous g-C3N4 (ZIF/Au-PCN) nanocomposites have
been successfully synthesized and utilized for the conversion of CO2 into useful products and Bisphenol A (BPA) decontamination.
Compared to pristine PCN, the photocatalytic activities of the most
active 3ZIF/1.5Au-PCN nanocomposite are enhanced by 8.0-fold for the
conversion of CO2 and by 2.5-fold for BPA degradation.
On the basis of our experimental results, it is verified that the
porous nature increases the surface area of g-C3N4. Remarkably, the incorporation of Au exceptionally adjusts the band
gap of g-C3N4 from 2.7 to 2.48 eV via the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect, while the coupling of
a metal–organic framework (MOF; ZIF-67) not only enhances the
surface area but also prominently enhances the charge separation of
g-C3N4
via a photoelectron
modulation mechanism. In addition, transmission electron microscopy,
scanning electron microscopy, photocurrent action spectroscopy, electrochemical
impedance spectroscopy, time-resolved photoluminescence, fluorescence
spectroscopy linked with •OH amount, Fourier transform
infrared, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, etc., confirmed that
the insertion of a noble-metal Au atom and the fabrication of a MOF
offered a suitable energy platform and improved the photocatalytic
activities for BPA decontamination and CO2 conversion into
valuable products. Moreover, on the basis of thermogravimetric analysis
and stability tests, it is proven that the as-synthesized samples
are highly stable and no morphological and physiochemical changes
are observed before and after various analyses and photocatalytic
reactions. Hence, our present research work will manifestly open an
innovative gateway and feasible strategy to prepare MOF-supported
and plasmonic-assisted g-C3N4-based porous and
highly efficient photocatalysts for CO2 conversion and
environmental protection.