Fabrication and characterization of hollow CdMoO4 coupled g-C3N4 heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic activity

This research was designed for the first time to investigate the activities of CdMoO4/g-C3N4 heterojunction in photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and converting CO2 to fuels. The composite was synthesized via a simple mixing-calcination method and characterized by various techniques including Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method (BET), X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and electrochemical method. The results showed that the introduction of CdMoO4 to g-C3N4 exerted little effect on the property of light absorption, but resulted in an increase in the BET surface area, which was beneficial for the adsorption of RhB. More importantly, formation of a hetero-junction structure between CdMoO4 and g-C3N4 significantly promoted the separation of electron-hole pairs and ultimately enhanced the photocatalytic activity. The optimal CdMoO4/g-C3N4 composite could degrade RhB 6.5 times faster than pure g-C3N4 under visible light irradiation. Meanwhile, the composite showed a CO2 conversion rate of 25.8 mu mol h(-1) g(cat)(-1), which was 4.8 and 8.1 times higher than those of g-C3N4 and P25, respectively, under simulated sunlight irradiation. This work might represent an important step in simultaneous environmental protection and energy production by g-C3N4 based materials. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.