Fast electron transfer and enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity by using poly-o-phenylenediamine modified AgCl/g-C3N4 nanosheets

Exfoliation of bulk graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) into two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets is one of the effective strategies to improve its photocatalytic properties so that the 2D g-C3N4 nanosheets (CN) have larger specific surface areas and more reaction sites. In addition, poly-o-phenylenediamine (PoPD) can improve the electrical conductivity and photocatalytic activity of semiconductor materials. Here, the novel efficient composite PoPD/AgCl/g-C3N4 nanosheets was first synthesized by a precipitation reaction and the photoinitiated polymerization approach. The obtained photocatalysts have larger specific surface areas and could achieve better visible-light response. However, silver chloride (AgCl) is susceptible to agglomeration and photocorrosion. The PoPD/AgCl/CN composite exhibits an extremely high photocurrent density, which is three times that of CN. Obviously enhanced photocatalytic activities of PoPD/AgCl/g-C3N4 are revealed through the photodegradation of tetracycline. The stability of PoPD/AgCl/CN is demonstrated based on four cycles of experiments that reveal that the degradation rate only decreases slightly. Furthermore, center dot O-2(-) and h(+) are the main active species, which are confirmed through a trapping experiment and ESR spin-trap technique. Therefore, the prepared PoPD/AgCl/CN can be considered as a stable photocatalyst, in which PoPD is added as a charge carrier and acts a photosensitive protective layer on the surface of the AgCl particles. This provides a new technology for preparing highly stable composite photocatalysts that can effectively deal with environmental issues. (C) 2019, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.