Synergistic effect of efficient adsorption g-C3N4/ZnO composite for photocatalytic property

Novel g-C3N4/ZnO composite photocatalyst was synthesized from an oxygen-containing precursor by direct thermal decomposition urea in air without any other templates assistance. Different percentages of g-C3N4 were hybridized with ZnO via the monolayer-dispersed method. The prepared g-C3N4/ZnO composites were characterized by XRD, SEM, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), FT-IR, TEM and XPS. The composites showed much higher efficiency for degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) than ZnO under UV and visible light irradiation. Especially, the photocatalytic efficiency was the highest under UV light irradiation when the percentage of g-C3N4 was 6%. The improved photocatalytic activity may be due to synergistic effect of photon acquisition and direct contact between organic dyestuff and photocatalyst Then, effective separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs at the interface of g-C3N4 is an important factor for improvement of photocatalytic activity. This work indicates that g-C3N4 hybrid semiconductors photocatalyst is a promising material in pollutants degradation. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.