Constructing effective photocatalytic purification system with P-introduced g-C3N4 for elimination of UO22+

Due to the inherent defects of precursor molecular structure, the limited effect of structure in the formed g-C3N4 will weaken the extension of delocalization of pi electrons between the adjacent tris-triazine or heptazine units of g-C3N4, which thus leads to poor visible-light absorption, low utilization efficiency of charge carrier. Herein, P-introduced g-C3N4 ( PC3N4) photocatalysts were constructed by partially replacing C with tributyl phosphate as precursor, and the as-designed PC3N4 photocatalysts were used to eliminate aqueous uranyl ion by photocatalytic reduction technology under visible-light irradiation. Experimental and DFT revealed that introduction of P into g-C3N4 significantly modified its electronic structure, as reflected by the narrowed band gap, enhanced visible-light absorption as well as improved transfer capability of photogenerated charge. Therefore, photocatalytic activity of PC3N4 was much better than that of pristine g-C3N4 and conventional reducing-type photocatalysts. This study suggests an efficient strategy for construct effective visible-light-responsive photocatalysts for radioactive environmental remediation. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.