Low temperature synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride nanorods for heavy metal ions sensing

摘要

In the present work synthesis of different morphologies of graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) including both one dimensional rod-like as well as two dimensional sheet-like structures through simple chemical route have been reported. The as-prepared samples are used to detect the presence of different transition/heavy metals like copper, iron, nickel, lead etc. that have acute negative impact on human health causing diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's diseases, Parkinson's disease, gastrointestinal irritations etc. The rod and sheet like morphology of the samples was confirmed from FESEM and TEM analysis. The samples were characterized by XRD and FTIR to provide a detail insight into the phase formation and the different bonds present in the samples. Change in optical band gap of the samples was calculated from diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Photoluminescence Spectroscopy was performed to study the change in the emission spectrum with the change in the morphology of GCN. Detection of different heavy/transition metals was done by the means of fluorescence spectroscopy. It has been shown that the as prepared samples are most effective in detection of Cu2+ions over others and thus the corresponding sensing mechanism has been studied in much detail.