Bioinspired construction of carbonized poly(tannic acid)/g-C3N4 nanorod photocatalysts for organics degradation

Solar energy-driven photocatalysis has become a promising green technology to degrade organic pollutants discharged into water environment in recent years. In this study, a kind of novel cPTA/CN nanorod photocatalysts were prepared by using poly(tannic acid) as both template and adhesive, in which the g-C3N4 (CN) nanolayer formed on the surface of carbonized poly(tannic acid) (cPTA) nanorods, similar to the adhesion of marine mussel foot silk protein on the solid surface. The porous cPTA/CN nanorods with about 400 nm in width and 2-4 mu m in length can degrade 97% Rhodamine B within 80 min and 78% tetracycline within 3 h under visible light irradiation. Porous cPTA nanorods play an important role for promoting the photocatalytic activity, which can not only accelerate the separation of photogenerated carriers, but also afford more active sites and molecule diffusion channels. This kind of nanocomposite photocatalysts may find broad application potential in the treatment of organic pollutants in aqueous solution.

Automated summary

Solar energy-driven photocatalysis is a promising green technology for degrading organic pollutants in water. The novel cPTA/CN nanorod photocatalysts prepared in this study show high efficiency in degrading Rhodamine B and tetracycline under visible light irradiation, indicating their potential application in the treatment of organic pollutants in aqueous solution.