Issue 42, 2015

Synthesis of efficient photocatalysts for water oxidation and dye degradation reactions using CoCl2 eutectics

Abstract

A simple one-step procedure for the preparation of cobalt oxide–carbon nitride composites by carrying out the thermal condensation reaction of carbon nitride precursors in cobalt(II) chloride-containing salt melts is developed. This method enables us to control the structure of the polymer constituent by the proper selection of the second eutectic component. In this respect, alkali metal chlorides and zinc chloride give rise to poly(triazine imides), while tin(II) chloride delivers melon-based polymers. The crystallinity of the carbon nitride polymer phase can be influenced by varying the concentration of the precursor in the melt. On the other hand, cobalt oxide loading in the final products can be increased by decreasing the precursor concentration in the melt. The products are highly active photocatalysts for Rhodamine B degradation as exemplified by SnCl2/CoCl2-derived solids, and the water oxidation reaction (WOR). The activity of the products in the WOR is comparable with that of the bench composite photocatalyst prepared by using the three-step procedure that includes the synthesis of Co3O4 nanoparticles as a separate step, thus illustrating the advantages of the developed salt melt assisted approach.

Graphical abstract: Synthesis of efficient photocatalysts for water oxidation and dye degradation reactions using CoCl2 eutectics

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Aug 2015
Accepted
09 Sep 2015
First published
11 Sep 2015
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015,3, 21227-21232

Synthesis of efficient photocatalysts for water oxidation and dye degradation reactions using CoCl2 eutectics

C. Fettkenhauer, X. Wang, K. Kailasam, M. Antonietti and D. Dontsova, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 21227 DOI: 10.1039/C5TA06304C

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