In-situ growth of g-C3N4 layer on ZnO nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic performances under visible light irradiation

We proposed a facile method to prepare ZnO@g-C3N4 core/shell type photocatalyst via a two-step calcination. Thin layer of g-C3N4 was homogeneously coated on ZnO nanoparticles with well-defined interface, which reduces the charge transfer resistance and results in distinct PL quenching. Therefore, the as-prepared ZnO@g-C3N4 demonstrates significant photocatalytic improvement under visible-light irradiation than ZnO (similar to 35 times) and g-C3N4 (similar to 5 times) due to the effective charge separation and suppressed carrier recombination. Moreover the ZnO@g-C3N4 photocatalyst shows high stability which retains 90% of its initial activity after 5-cycle reuse. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.