Superior uniform carbon nanofibers@g-C3N4 core-shell nanostructures embedded by Au nanoparticles for high-efficiency photocatalyst

Xuejiao Zhou; Ye Wang; Yang Wang; Mingyi Zhang; Hong Gao; Xitian Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121759

Superior uniform carbon nanofibers@g-C₃N₄ core-shell nanostructures embedded by Au nanoparticles for high-efficiency photocatalyst

J Hazard Mater. 2020 Apr 15:388:121759. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121759. Epub 2019 Nov 25.

Authors

Xuejiao Zhou¹, Ye Wang¹, Yang Wang¹, Mingyi Zhang², Hong Gao¹, Xitian Zhang³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Photonic and Electronic Bandgap Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Harbin Normal University, Harbin, 150025, People's Republic of China.
² Key Laboratory for Photonic and Electronic Bandgap Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Harbin Normal University, Harbin, 150025, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: zhangmingyi@hrbnu.edu.cn.
³ Key Laboratory for Photonic and Electronic Bandgap Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Harbin Normal University, Harbin, 150025, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: xtzhangzhang@hotmail.com.

PMID: 31831289
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121759

Abstract

Ultrathin g-C₃N₄ nanolayers were uniformly assembled on Au nanoparticles (NPs) decorated carbon nanofiber (CNFs) by a facile gas-solid approach. The mean thickness of g-C₃N₄ shell layers on CNFs-Au supports was about 22.5 nm. The ternary system of as-prepared photocatalysts with superior uniformly core-shell nanostructures present enhanced photocatalytic properties. The rate constants (rhodamine B and K₂Cr₂O₇) of CNFs-Au@g-C₃N₄ were about 3.5 and 4.5 times of g-C₃N₄ powders, respectively. While the rate of H₂-evolution was 2.3-fold of the physical mixture, when the loading amount of Au NPs was about 0.52 At.%. Their excellent photocatalytic activities were attributed to the advantages of their unique core-shell nanostructures and the synergy of the Au NPs as a high-efficiency electron conduction bridge and their surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect. Moreover, the ternary systems of CNFs-Au@g-C₃N₄ present the gratifying cycling stability in photocatalytic reactions due to their ultra-long core-shell nanostructures. Our work provides a novel route for designing and constructing multicomponent photocatalyst in wastewater treatment and solar energy applications.

Keywords: Au-decorated carbon nanofiber; Core-shell nanostructures; G-C(3)N(4) nanolayers; Gas-solid reaction; Visible photocatalytic activity.