Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2022, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (10): 2637-2651.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(21)64038-X

• Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Construction of 3D flowers-like O-doped g-C3N4-[N-doped Nb2O5/C] heterostructure with direct S-scheme charge transport and highly improved visible-light-driven photocatalytic efficiency

Fahim A. Qaraaha, Samah A. Mahyoubb, Abdo Hezamc, Amjad Qaraahd, Qasem A. Drmoshe, Guangli Xiua,*()   

  1. aState Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Processes, School of Resources & Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
    bState Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
    cLeibniz-Institute for Catalysis at the University of Rostock, 18059 Rostock, Germany
    dSchool of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
    eInterdisciplinary Research Center for Hydrogen and Energy Storage (IRC-HES), King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
  • Received:2022-01-28 Accepted:2022-02-15 Online:2022-10-18 Published:2022-09-30
  • Contact: Guangli Xiu
  • Supported by:
    Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality(19DZ1205001);Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment Grant(huhuanke [2021]-46)

Abstract:

Constructing a suitable heterojunction photocatalytic system from two photocatalytic materials is an efficient approach for designing extremely efficient photocatalysts for a broader range of environmental, medical, and energy applications. Recently, the construction of a step-scheme heterostructure system (hereafter called the S-scheme) has received widespread attention in the photocatalytic field due to its ability to achieve efficient photogenerated carrier separation and obtain strong photo-redox ability. Herein, a novel S-scheme heterojunction system consisting of 2D O-doped g-C3N4 (OCN) nanosheets and 3D N-doped Nb2O5/C (N-NBO/C) nanoflowers is constructed via ultrasonication and vigorous agitation technique followed by heat treatment for the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). Detailed characterization and decomposition behaviour of RhB showed that the fabricated material shows excellent photocatalytic efficiency and stability towards RhB photodegradation under visible-light illumination. The enhanced performance could be attributed to the following factors: fast charge transfer, highly-efficient charge separation, extended lifetime of photoinduced charge carriers, and the high redox capability of the photoinduced charges in the S-scheme system. Various trapping experiment conditions and electron paramagnetic resonance provide clear evidence of the S-scheme photogenerated charge transfer path, meanwhile, the RhB mineralization degradation pathway was also investigated using LC-MS. This study presents an approach to constructing Nb2O5-based S-scheme heterojunctions for photocatalytic applications.

Key words: 2D/3D nanostructure, S-scheme heterojunction, g-C3N4, Nb2O5, Photocatalytic degradation