A high efficient graphitic-C3N4/BiOI/graphene oxide ternary nanocomposite heterostructured photocatalyst with graphene oxide as electron transport buffer material

It is important to reduce the recombination of electrons and holes and enhance charge transfer through fine controlled interfaces for advanced catalyst design. In this work, graphene oxide (GO) was composited with graphitic-C3N4 (g-C3N4) and BiOI forming GO/g-C3N4 and GO/BiOI heterostructural interfaces, respectively. GO, which has a work function between the conducting bands of g-C3N4 and BiOI, is used as a buffer material to enhance electron transfer from g-C3N4 to BiOI through the GO/g-C3N4 and GO/BiOI interfaces. The increased photocurrent and reduced photoluminescence indicate efficient reduction of electron and hole recombination under the successful heterostructure design. Accordingly, the introduction of GO as a charge transfer buffer material has largely enhanced the photocatalytic performance of the composite. Thus, introducing charge transfer buffer materials for photocatalytic performance enhancement has proved to be a new strategy for advanced photocatalyst design.