An integrated photothermal-photocatalytic materials for efficient photocatalytic performance boosting by synergistic photothermally

Photothermal photocatalysis technology is considered to be a promising way to enhance the photocatalysis which gives a new vitality to the environment and energy production. However, most of typical photocatalysts materials show weak photothermal effect which caused a huge waste of energy and efficiency. More importantly, another great challenge is that there are heat losses during the heat transfer process from the photothermal materials to photocatalytic materials, which limits the efficiency of photothermal contribution to enhanced photocatalytic performance. Here, we proposed the integrated photothermal-photocatalytic material conception that one material couples with photothermal effect and photocatalytic property, which is an effective way to reduce heat losses and improve photocatalysis and solar utilization with simple preparation and high-cost effectiveness. The optimal integrated photothermal-photocatalytic materials (r-CuS/g-C3N4-2), overcome the deficiencies of CuS for photothermal conversion and photocatalysis, demonstrates an approximated 2.7 times increase in dye degradation efficiency compared with r-CuS. Moreover, the reaction efficiency is increase with the ambient temperature increase from 1.9 degrees C to 54.6 degrees C corresponding to the k value increasing from 0.0074 min-1 to 0.0356 min-1, which demonstrates efficient photothermal contribution to greatly enhanced photocatalysis up to 4.8 times. This work not only provides a promising design to combine absorption, photothermal contribution and photocatalysis to prepare a multifunctional and integrated photothermal-photocatalytic material, but also discussed the mechanism of photothermal effect on photocatalysis.

Automated summary

Photothermal photocatalysis technology is a promising way to enhance photocatalysis, but most typical photocatalyst materials have weak photothermal effect. This study proposes the concept of integrated photothermal-photocatalytic materials, which can reduce heat losses and improve photocatalysis and solar utilization. The optimal integrated material shows an approximately 2.7 times increase in dye degradation efficiency compared to a typical material. Moreover, the reaction efficiency is significantly increased with temperature, demonstrating the efficient photothermal contribution to greatly enhance photocatalysis up to 4.8 times.