Comparative Investigation of Simulated Solar-driven Photocatalytic Performance of g-C3N4 Prepared by Different Precursors

Abstract

Abstract g-C3N4 was prepared by heating different precursors. The photocatalysts were characterized by Brunauer- Emmett-Teller (BET) method, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, particle size analyzer and surface photovoltage (SPV) spectroscopy, respectively. The photocatalytic activities of g-C3N4 prepared by different precursors for decolorization of rhodamine B aqueous solution were evaluated. The results show that g-C3N4 prepared by heating urea exhibits the best photocatalytic activity under simulated solar irradiation, which can be assigned to the relative higher specific surface area, the smaller particle size, the higher separation efficiency of photo-generated charge pairs, the higher adsorption toward rhodamine B aqueous solution.