Template-Free Synthesis of g-C3N4 Nanoball/BiOCl Nanotube Heterojunction with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

There are many reports on g-C3N4 nanosheet and BiOCl nanosheet, but few studies on other morphologies of g-C3N4 and BiOCl. Herein, a g-C3N4 nanoball/BiOCl nanotube heterojunction prepared by a simple one-step acetonitrile solvothermal method is reported. The XRD results prove that the g-C3N4/BiOCl composites can be prepared in one step. SEM results revealed that the g-C3N4 was spherical and the BiOCl was tubular. The HRTEM results indicate that g-C3N4 has an amorphous structure and that the (100) crystal plane of BiOCl borders the g-C3N4. Spherical g-C3N4 has a narrow band gap (approximately 1.94 eV), and the band gap of g-C3N4/BiOCl after modification was also narrow. When the BiOCl accounted for 30% of the g-C3N4/BiOCl by mass, the quasi-primary reaction rate constant of RhB degradation was 45 times that of g-C3N4. This successful preparation method for optimizing g-C3N4 involving simple one-step template-free synthesis may be adopted for the preparation of diverse-shapes and high-performance nanomaterials in the future.

Automated summary

This study reports the preparation of a g-C3N4 nanoball/BiOCl nanotube heterojunction using a simple one-step acetonitrile solvothermal method. The g-C3N4/BiOCl composites exhibited a narrow band gap and had a higher reaction rate constant for RhB degradation. The successful preparation method may be useful for the synthesis of diverse-shaped and high-performance nanomaterials in the future.