Non-metal photocatalyst nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes modified mpg-C3N4: facile synthesis and the enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

摘要

Graphical abstract We report a facile synthesis strategy involving polymerization of cyanamide as the precursor in the presence of N-CNT via thermal polycondensation. The N-CNT/mpg-C3N4 exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity for Rhodamine B (RhB), Methyl orange (MO) and Tetracycline (TC) degradation compared with the pure one under visible-light irradiation, which is mainly due to the efficiently separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs for the introduction of N-CNT as electronic transfer channels. The photocatalytic reaction can fit as first order kinetics. Additionally, superoxide radical (O2 ??) was regarded as main reactive species participate in the photodegradation reaction process. Furthermore, the proposed mechanism for enhancing photocatalytic activity of N-CNT/mpg-C3N4 is attributed to synergistic effects between mpg-C3N4 as main ingredient and N-CNT as transfer media. Display Omitted Abstract Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNT) is a promising metal-free candidate and electronic acceptor. It has been employed to modify mesoporous carbon nitride (mpg-C3N4) for photocatalytic degradation of organic dye and antibiotics under visible-light irradiation. Herein, we report a facile synthesis strategy involving polymerization of cyanamide as the precursor in the presence of N-CNT via thermal polycondensation. The morphology and structure of as-prepared N-CNT/mpg-C3N4 were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The N-CNT/mpg-C3N4-15 exhibited increased photocatalytic activity for rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO) and tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) degradation compared with the pure one under visible-light irradiation, which is mainly due to the efficiently separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs for the introduction of N-CNT as electronic acceptor. The photocatalytic reaction can fit the first order kinetics. Additionally, superoxide radical (O2 ?) was regarded as main reactive species participating in the photodegradation reaction process. Furthermore, the reason for enhancing photocatalytic activity of N-CNT/mpg-C3N4 is mainly attributed to synergistic effects between mpg-C3N4 as main ingredient and N-CNT as electron acceptor. ]]>