Self-floating g-C3N4/h-BN/Au photo-thermal catalysts with unprecedented thermostability at solar-activated heating condition for reusable degradation of organic pollutants

Photo-thermal catalytic (PTC) degradation as an ideal candidate for wastewater treatment is yet suffering from the unsatisfied recyclability due to the thermal effect-exacerbated serious photocorrosion of semiconductorbased catalysts. Based on polymeric graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4) hybridized with antioxidative hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and grafted with stable Au nanoparticles (NPs), we provide thermostable g-C3N4/h-BN/Au nano-catalysts for high-efficient degradation of organic dyes at solar-activated heating condition. The fantastic PTC activity with optimal degradation rate up to - 0.30 min-1 is far better than most mainstream hybrid catalysts. The unprecedented thermal recyclability is convincingly verified by consecutive 10 repeated tests within 500 min measurements under solar-driven heating condition (-60 degrees C), wherein the negligible drop of degradation efficiency is only - 0.2% lower than pristine one. The ingenious self-floating PTC membranes can be conveniently established by immobilizing the resultant nano-catalysts into bio-carbon porous frames and viscous bacterial nano-celluloses, facilitating practical wastewater decontamination in real-world scenarios.

Automated summary

This study develops a high-temperature-resistant and efficient photo-thermal catalyst for the degradation of organic dyes. The catalyst exhibits excellent degradation rate under solar-activated heating conditions, and it also demonstrates remarkable thermal recyclability. By immobilizing the nano-catalyst in specific materials, it can be conveniently applied for practical wastewater purification.