Carbon vacancy-induced enhancement of the visible light-driven photocatalytic oxidation of NO over g-C3N4nanosheets

Yuhan Li, Wingkei Ho, Kangle Lv, Bicheng Zhu, Shuncheng Lee

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

214 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

g-C3N4(gCN) with carbon vacancy has been extensively investigated and applied in (photo)catalysis. Engineering the carbon vacancy in gCN is of great importance, but it remains a challenging task. In this work, we report for the first time the fabrication of gCN with carbon vacancy (Cv-gCN) via thermal treatment of pristine gCN in CO2atmosphere. The photocatalytic performance of Cv-gCN is evaluated on the basis of NO oxidization under visible light irradiation (λ > 400 nm) in a continual reactor. The successful formation of carbon vacancy in gCN is confirmed through electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photocatalytic oxidation removal rate of NO over Cv-gCN is 59.0%, which is two times higher than that over pristine gCN (24.2%). The results of the quenching experiment show that superoxide radicals (O2[rad]−) act as the main reactive oxygen species, which is responsible for the oxidation of NO. The enlarged BET surface areas and negatively shifted conduction band (CB) potential enhance the photocatalytic activity of Cv-gCN, which facilitates the efficient electron transfer from the CB of Cv-gCN to the surface adsorbed oxygen, resulting in the formation of O2[rad]−that can oxidize NO.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)380-389
Number of pages10
JournalApplied Surface Science
Volume430
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2018

Keywords

  • Carbon vacancy
  • CO 2
  • g-C N 3 4
  • NO oxidation
  • Thermal etching

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films

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