A study of photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical activity of as-synthesized WO3/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts for AO7 degradation

Bibliographic Details
Title: A study of photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical activity of as-synthesized WO3/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts for AO7 degradation
Authors: A. Priya, R.A. Senthil, A. Selvi, Prabhakarn Arunachalam, C.K. Senthil Kumar, J. Madhavan, Rajender Boddula, Ramyakrishna Pothu, Abdullah M. Al-Mayouf
Source: Materials Science for Energy Technologies, Vol 3, Iss , Pp 43-50 (2020)
Publisher Information: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd., 2020.
Publication Year: 2020
Collection: LCC:Materials of engineering and construction. Mechanics of materials
Subject Terms: Tungsten oxide, Graphitic carbon nitride, Photocatalysts, Acid orange 7, Visible-light, Materials of engineering and construction. Mechanics of materials, TA401-492, Energy conservation, TJ163.26-163.5
More Details: Herein, we have examined the effect of tungsten trioxide (WO3) doping in graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) photocatalysts towards photodegradation of organic pollutant in aqueous medium. A sequence of visible light driven WO3/g-C3N4 composites were synthesized at various mole ratios (1, 2, 3 and 5%) of WO3 into g-C3N4 via simple and short-time wet-impregnation method. The fabricated photocatalytic materials were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The photocatalytic performance of the fabricated photocatalysts were assessed by the degradation of acid orange 7 (AO7) in visible-light illumination. The WO3/g-C3N4 composites were found to be exhibit an improved visible-light induced photocatalytic performances compared to the pure WO3 and g-C3N4. However, among the different composites, the optimized 3 wt% WO3/g-C3N4 composite has shown complete (100%) degradation efficiency of AO7 after 75 min which is superior than the pure g-C3N4. This synergistic enhancement might be credited to its increased light absorption in visible-light region and the photoexcited electron transfer from g-C3N4 to WO3 catalyst surface and enhanced charge separation efficiency. Additionally, the photo-electrochemical measurements of 3 wt% WO3/g-C3N4 composite has exhibited a quicker migration of the photo-excited charge-carriers. The radical scavenging studies inferred that the O2·− are the key species accountable for the degradation of AO7 for fabricated WO3/g-C3N4 composite materials. Hence, the higher photocatalytic activity, long-term stability and recyclability of WO3/g-C3N4 composite has displayed it is a auspicious material for the photocatlytic degradation of organic contaminant applications.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2589-2991
Relation: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S258929911930117X; https://doaj.org/toc/2589-2991
DOI: 10.1016/j.mset.2019.09.013
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/9a5810e13d83485b958afaa756310984
Accession Number: edsdoj.9a5810e13d83485b958afaa756310984
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:25892991
DOI:10.1016/j.mset.2019.09.013
Published in:Materials Science for Energy Technologies
Language:English