FeOOH quantum dots coupled g-C3N4 for visible light driving photo- Fenton degradation of organic pollutants

Amorphous FeOOH quantum dots (QDs) were coupled with polymeric photocatalysts g-C3N4 which was developed as a visible light driving photo-Fenton catalyst. Highly dispersed FeOOH QDs anchored on g-C3N4 showed enhanced visible light driving photo-Fenton degradation of MO and phenol than that of pure g-C3N4 and mechanical mixture (FeOOH&g-C3N4). The mineralization efficiency on FeOOH/g-C3N4 is nearly 7 times higher than that on pure g-C3N4 which shows great potential in treatment of recalcitrant organic pollutants. XPS results indicated that extraneous carbon species were present in FeOOH/g-C3N4 which should be responsible for the electron transfer between FeOOH and g-C3N4. Based on the radical capture, electrochemical experiments and photoluminescence (PL) decay characterizations, we proposed that visible light excited the g-C3N4 to produce e(-)/h(+) pairs and the e(-) participated the cycling of Fe(II)/Fe(III). The FeOOH/g-C3N4 showed high recycling stability without Fe leaching due to the interaction of FeOOH QDs and carbon species. The FeOOH QDs coupled g-C3N4 is a promising visible light driving photo-Fenton catalyst for organic pollutants treatment.