Hierarchical Z-scheme g-C3N4/Au/ZnIn2S4 photocatalyst for highly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic nitric oxide removal and carbon dioxide conversion

Guping Zhang; Xingwang Zhu; Dongyun Chen; Najun Li; Qingfeng Xu; Hua Li; Jinghui He; Hui Xu; Jianmei Lu

doi:10.1039/C9EN01325C

Hierarchical Z-scheme g-C₃N₄/Au/ZnIn₂S₄ photocatalyst for highly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic nitric oxide removal and carbon dioxide conversion†

Guping Zhang,^a Xingwang Zhu,

^b Dongyun Chen,*^a Najun Li,^a Qingfeng Xu,^a Hua Li,^a Jinghui He,^a Hui Xu^b and Jianmei Lu

*^a

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* Corresponding authors

^a College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
E-mail: dychen@suda.edu.cn, lujm@suda.edu.cn

^b Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, P.R. China

Abstract

We successfully prepared a ternary Z-scheme photocatalyst, g-C₃N₄/Au/ZnIn₂S₄ (CN/Au/ZIS), for visible-light-driven NO removal and CO₂ reduction by selecting Au NPs as the electron transfer mediator. The prepared photocatalysts demonstrated enhanced light absorption and a high surface area, which significantly improved the photocatalytic efficiency. The optimized CN/Au/ZIS photocatalyst achieved the highest NO removal efficiency of 59.7% and an excellent CO production rate of 242.3 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹ with a high selectivity of 94.1%, which were higher than those for pure g-C₃N₄ and ZnIn₂S₄. The improved photocatalytic activity could be ascribed to the Au NPs, which acted as an electron transfer mediator and enhanced the separation efficiency of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Additionally, the Z-scheme heterostructure affords the photocatalysts with a strong redox ability during the catalytic process. Finally, a possible Z-scheme mechanism for the CN/Au/ZIS photocatalytic system is detailed. This work sheds light on the design of high performance Z-scheme photocatalysts to advance photocatalytic redox capability.

This article is part of the themed collection: Nanomaterials in air

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C9EN01325C
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 20 Nov 2019
Accepted: 08 Jan 2020
First published: 08 Jan 2020

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Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2020,7, 676-687

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Hierarchical Z-scheme g-C₃N₄/Au/ZnIn₂S₄ photocatalyst for highly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic nitric oxide removal and carbon dioxide conversion

G. Zhang, X. Zhu, D. Chen, N. Li, Q. Xu, H. Li, J. He, H. Xu and J. Lu, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2020, 7, 676 DOI: 10.1039/C9EN01325C

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Environmental Science: Nano