Used oxygen-doped C3N4 to enhance the photocatalysis performance of O-C3N4/Ag@AgCl composite photocatalyst

Abstract

In this study, an oxygen doped-C₃N₄/Ag@AgCl (O-C₃N₄/Ag@AgCl) composite was synthesized by deposition–precipitation method and subsequent photoassisted reduction treatment. The photocatalytic degradation performances of both Rhodamine B (RhB) and phenol were investigated, and the results indicated that the photocatalytic performance of the O-C₃N₄/Ag@AgCl composite exhibited significant enhancement as compared with that of the graphite-like C₃N₄/Ag@AgCl composite. The enhancement in the photocatalytic performance of O-C₃N₄/Ag@AgCl was attributed to the following reasons: on one hand, the oxidizing groups induced by the doping of oxygen on the C₃N₄ surface, were easily combined with the Ag⁺ ions, and subsequently, the interfacial chemical bonds were formed between them, these bonds transforming into channels that would enhance the transfer capacity of the photogenerated electrons between O-C₃N₄ and Ag@AgCl, which improved the electron–hole separation efficiency; on the other hand, the specific surface area of O-C₃N₄ was enlarged during the oxygen doping process, which increased the effective contact area between O-C₃N₄ and Ag@AgCl, thereby further improving the separation efficiency of the photogenerated electrons and holes.