Facile synthesis of iron and cerium co-doped g-C3N4 with synergistic effect to enhance visible-light photocatalytic performance. (May 2020) - Pan, Tao
Graphical abstract: Highlights: Fe and Ce bimetallic co-doped g-C3 N4 photocatalyst (Fe-Ce/CN) is successfully synthesized by simple calcination and hydrothermal method. Comparing with pristine g-C3 N4, Fe-Ce/CN shows more effective separation of electron-hole and narrowed band gap. It exhibits high removal rate of Cr(Ⅵ) in the mixed pollutants solution without pH adjustment under visible-light irradiation. The possible reaction mechanism of simultaneous photoreduction Cr(Ⅵ) and photooxidation organic dye by Fe-Ce/CN is proposed. Abstract: A novel visible-light-driven Fe and Ce bimetallic co-doped g-C3 N4 (Fe-Ce/CN) photocatalyst was successfully fabricated by a straightforward method. Experimental results indicated that no matter in the single pollutant system or mixed pollutants system containing Cr(Ⅵ) and an organic dye, Fe-Ce/CN exhibits super photocatalytic activity. It is mainly caused by the synergistic effect of Fe and Ce ions. Fe inserted into the lattice of g-C3 N4 could narrow the band gap and inhibit combination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. More importantly, the existence of Fe and Ce would improve the redox cycle with each other which is benefit for further increasing charge separation, light absorption and quantum efficiency. Furthermore, the controlled experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) were performed to identify the relevant reactive species. Possible photocatalytic process of simultaneously removing mixed pollutants and mechanism were proposed. In general, this work provides a facile method to improve the photocatalytic activity of photocatalyst.