Bifunctional g-C3N4/WO3 Thin Films for Photocatalytic Water Purification

A bifunctional thin film photocatalyst consisting of graphitic carbon nitride on tungsten trioxide (g-C3N4/WO3) is introduced for the improvement of photocatalytic activity concerning hexavalent chromium reduction and methylene blue dye removal in water, compared to the bare, widely used WO3 semiconductor. A bilayered structure was formed, which is important for the enhancement of the charge carriers' separation. The characterization of morphological, structural, optoelectronic, and vibrational properties of the photocatalysts permitted a better understanding of their photocatalytic activity for both dye degradation and Cr+6 elimination in water and the analysis of the photocatalytic kinetics permitted the determination of the corresponding pseudo-first-order reaction constants (k). Trapping experiments performed under UV illumination revealed that the main active species for the photocatalytic reduction of Cr+6 ions are electrons, whereas in the case of methylene blue azo-dye (MB) oxidation, the activation of the corresponding photocatalytic degradation comes via both holes and superoxide radicals.