Issue 17, 2015

What is the transfer mechanism of photogenerated carriers for the nanocomposite photocatalyst Ag3PO4/g-C3N4, band–band transfer or a direct Z-scheme?

Abstract

The separation mechanisms of photoexcited carriers for composite photocatalysts are a hot point in the photocatalytic field. In this paper, the Ag3PO4/g-C3N4 nanocomposites with different main parts (Ag3PO4 or g-C3N4) were synthesized using a facile in situ precipitation method. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, UV-vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller methods. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation. When the main part of the Ag3PO4/g-C3N4 photocatalyst is Ag3PO4, the transfer mechanism of photogenerated electron–hole takes generic band–band transfer, and the photocatalytic activity is decreased. However, when the primary part of the Ag3PO4/g-C3N4 photocatalyst is g-C3N4, the migration of photogenerated electron–hole exhibits a typical Z-scheme mechanism, and the photocatalytic activity is increased greatly. The separation mechanisms of photogenerated carriers were investigated by the electron spin resonance technology, the photoluminescence technique and the determination of reactive species in the photocatalytic reactions. It is hoped that this work could render guided information for design and application of Z-scheme photocatalysts with excellent photocatalytic performance.

Graphical abstract: What is the transfer mechanism of photogenerated carriers for the nanocomposite photocatalyst Ag3PO4/g-C3N4, band–band transfer or a direct Z-scheme?

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 Mar 2015
Accepted
01 Apr 2015
First published
02 Apr 2015

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 11577-11585

What is the transfer mechanism of photogenerated carriers for the nanocomposite photocatalyst Ag3PO4/g-C3N4, band–band transfer or a direct Z-scheme?

S. Meng, X. Ning, T. Zhang, S. Chen and X. Fu, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, 17, 11577 DOI: 10.1039/C5CP01523E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements