Dielectric barrier discharge plasma-assisted modification of g-C3N4/Ag2O/TiO2-NRs composite enhanced photoelectrocatalytic activity

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma applied as surface treatment technology was employed for the modification of Ag2O and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) powders. Subsequently, the pretreated powders were sequentially loaded onto TiO2 nanorods (TiO2-NRs) via electro-deposition, followed by calcination at N-2 atmosphere. The results indicated that at the optimal plasma discharge time of 5 min for modification of g-C3N4 and Ag2O, photocurrent density of ternary composite was 6 times to bare TiO2-NRs under UV-visible light irradiation. Phenol was degraded by using DBD plasma-modified g-C3N4/Ag2O/TiO2-NRs electrode to analyze the photoelectrocatalytic performance. The removal rate of phenol for g-C3N4-5/Ag2O-5/TiO2-NRs electrode was about 3.07 times to that for TiO2-NRs electrode. During active species scavengers' analysis, superoxide radicals and hydroxyl radicals were the main oxidation active species for pollutants degradation. A possible electron-hole separation and transfer mechanism of ternary composite with high photoelectrocatalytic performance was proposed. (C) 2020TheResearch Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was utilized for modifying Ag2O and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) powders, which were then loaded onto TiO2 nanorods (TiO2-NRs) to form a ternary composite with enhanced photoelectrocatalytic performance. The study demonstrated that the ternary composite showed significantly improved photocurrent density and efficient degradation of phenol under UV-visible light irradiation. Superoxide radicals and hydroxyl radicals were identified as the main oxidation active species for pollutants degradation, suggesting a promising potential for environmental remediation.