4-Nitrophenol Efficient Photoreduction from Exfoliated and Protonated Phenyl-Doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheets

Stefania Porcu; Francesco Secci; Qader Abdulqader Abdullah; Pier Carlo Ricci

doi:10.3390/polym13213752

4-Nitrophenol Efficient Photoreduction from Exfoliated and Protonated Phenyl-Doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheets

Polymers (Basel). 2021 Oct 29;13(21):3752. doi: 10.3390/polym13213752.

Authors

Stefania Porcu¹, Francesco Secci², Qader Abdulqader Abdullah³, Pier Carlo Ricci¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy.
² Department of Chemical and Geological Science, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy.
³ Department of Physics, University of Sulaimani, Kirkuk Road, Sulaimani 46001, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Abstract

The photoreduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol by means of protonated and exfoliated phenyl-doped carbon nitride is reported. Although carbon nitride-based materials have been recognized as efficient photocatalysts, the photoreduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol is not allowed because of the high recombination rate of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. In this paper, we show the morphology effects on the photoactivity in phenyl-doped carbon nitride. Structural (TEM, XRD, Raman) and optical characterization (absorption, photoluminescence) of the protonated and exfoliated phenyl-doped carbon nitride (hereafter pePhCN) is reported. The increased photocatalytic efficiency, with respect to the bulk material, is underlined by the calculation of the kinetic constant of the photoreduction process (2.78 × 10^-1 min^-1 and 3.54 × 10^-3 min^-1) for pePhCN and bulk PhCN, respectively. Finally, the detailed mechanism of the photoreduction process of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol by modified phenyl carbon nitride is proposed.

Keywords: 4-nitrophenol; functionalization; g-C3N4; phenyl modified carbon nitride; photocatalysis; photoreduction; pollutants degradation; surface and bulk modification.