Issue 7, 2024

Boosting pollutant degradation with simultaneous H2O2 production from its electron delocalization and excitation co-triggered by microelectric field and visible light

Abstract

Novel electron delocalization and excitation of pollutants triggered by a microelectric field (MEF) on the g-C3N4 surface and visible light was, for the first time, introduced in a dual-photocatalytic system, which greatly boost the pollutant degradation with simultaneous H2O2 production of dual photocatalysis. MEF was established on the surface of g-C3N4 by simply replacing its connecting N-sites (N–C3) with a benzene ring, transferring electrons of the benzene ring to the heptazine of g-C3N4 and storing them to establish an electron impurity level (EIL), which was excited by visible light to reduce O2 to H2O2. Then, MEF further transferred electrons of bisphenol A (BPA) and phenolic intermediates spontaneously absorbed on the benzene ring to fill up the electron deficiency of the EIL to maintain its continuous excitation, which strengthened the light absorption of g-C3N4 without generating holes and enriched the electron number for H2O2 production. Meanwhile, BPA and its degraded phenolic intermediates underwent self-cracking and intrinsic photocatalytic degradation on the HOMO of RSN (g-C3N4 modified with MEF), which prevented them from capturing electrons on reduction sites. Consequently, RSN10 with an optimal MEF showed a remarkable BPA degradation percentage of 100% with simultaneous H2O2 production of 65.82 μmol L−1 under 40 min visible light irradiation. This work provides a new strategy for directing the conversion of pollutant energy to chemical energy and breaking the intrinsic photocatalysis contradiction, which has great sustainability implications for pollutant treatment and recovery.

Graphical abstract: Boosting pollutant degradation with simultaneous H2O2 production from its electron delocalization and excitation co-triggered by microelectric field and visible light

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 3 2024
Accepted
27 5 2024
First published
08 6 2024

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2024,11, 3150-3161

Boosting pollutant degradation with simultaneous H2O2 production from its electron delocalization and excitation co-triggered by microelectric field and visible light

Z. Chen, Y. Pan, X. Zhang, P. Zhang and C. Hu, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2024, 11, 3150 DOI: 10.1039/D4EN00218K

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