Reusable and Flexible g-C₃N₄/Ag₃PO₄/Polyacrylonitrile Heterojunction Nanofibers for Photocatalytic Dye Degradation and Oxygen Evolution

Abstract

Flexible photocatalysts stand out from numerous photocatalysts because of their foldable, reusable, and mechanically stable properties. Here, g-C 3 N 4 /Ag 3 PO 4 /PAN nanofibers were prepared by immobilizing Ag 3 PO 4 nanoparticles on electrospun g-C 3 N 4 /PAN nanofibers through the room-temperature in situ synthesis method. Compared with g-C 3 N 4 /PAN and Ag 3 PO 4 /PAN, the g-C 3 N 4 /Ag 3 PO 4 / PAN nanofibers exhibited better photocatalytic performance. The degradation rates of Rhodamine B and tetracycline hydrochloride of g-C 3 N 4 /Ag 3 PO 4 /PAN nanofibers were 8.8 and 12.9 times higher than those of g-C 3 N 4 /PAN nanofibers, while 3.1 and 6.5 times higher than those of Ag 3 PO 4 /PAN nanofibers, respectively. In addition, the oxygen evolution rate of g-C 3 N 4 /Ag 3 PO 4 /PAN nanofibers was 1.9 times better than that of g-C 3 N 4 /PAN and 5.8 times better than that of Ag 3 PO 4 /PAN. The improved photocatalytic performance of g-C 3 N 4 /Ag 3 PO 4 /PAN was likely because of the existence of Zscheme g-C 3 N 4 /Ag 3 PO 4 heterojunction with efficient charge separation. Furthermore, g-C 3 N 4 /Ag 3 PO 4 /PAN nanofibers had a better photochemical stability than Ag 3 PO 4 /PAN, which was probably due to the inhibited of Ag 3 PO 4 photocorrosion by the transfer of electrons from Ag 3 PO 4 to g-C 3 N 4 . These photocatalysts could be easily separated and reused due to their extra long nanofibrous mat structures and flexible properties. This work provided a new road to design and fabricate flexible selfsupporting photocatalysts for pollutants degradation and energy conversion. KEYWORDS: g-C 3 N 4 /Ag 3 PO 4 heterojunction, nanofibers, flexible photocatalysts, pollutant degradation, oxygen evolution

Synthesis of g‐C3N4, Zn3(PO4)2 and g‐C3N4/Zn3(PO4)2 Composites for Application in Photodegradation of Crystal Violet Dye under Solar Light

“…The FTIR spectra of g‐C 3 N 4 , Zn 3 (PO 4 ) 2 and g‐C 3 N 4 /Zn 3 (PO 4 ) 2 composite were recorded and shown in the Figure 2. In the FT‐IR spectrum of g‐C 3 N 4 (Figure 2a), several strong peaks observed at 1235–1650 cm −1 correspond to the typical stretching modes of C−N and C=N heterocycles in g‐C 3 N 4 [57] . In addition, another sharp peak at 809 cm −1 is ascribed to the typical characteristic breathing mode of the tri‐s‐triazine from the heptazine ring unit of g‐C 3 N 4 [58] .…”

“…In the FT-IR spectrum of g-C 3 N 4 (Figure 2a), several strong peaks observed at 1235-1650 cm À 1 correspond to the typical stretching modes of CÀ N and C=N heterocycles in g-C 3 N 4 . [57] In addition, another sharp peak at 809 cm À 1 is ascribed to the typical characteristic breathing mode of the tri-s-triazine from the heptazine ring unit of g-C 3 N 4 . [58] Zn 3 (PO 4 ) 2 shows presence of different functional groups (Figure 2b).…”

The construction of a dual direct Z-scheme NiAl LDH/g-C3N4/Ag3PO4 nanocomposite for enhanced photocatalytic oxygen and hydrogen evolution

“…According to the M-S plots, the estimated E CB values of NiAl-LDH, g-C 3 N 4 , and Ag 3 PO 4 were À0.43, À0.64, and 0.58 eV, respectively. 75 Moreover, the VB position can be determined using the following relation: 31…”

Porous g-C3N4 with defects for the efficient dye photodegradation under visible light

“…However, some of the g-C 3 N 4 based catalysts request complex synthetic methods and purification procedures (Yuan et al 2016;Iqbal et al 2019;Li et al 2019). Some reported g-C 3 N 4 composite catalysts contain metal components, which may cause secondary pollution in the application (Pham & Shin 2018;Tao et al 2019).…”