Sodium alkoxide-mediated g-C3N4 immobilized on a composite nanofibrous membrane for preferable photocatalytic activity. Issue 24 (20th May 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Xue; Wu, Qin; Hussain, Mushraf; Chen, Liang; Huang, Qiong; Huang, Wei; Tao, Tao
• Is Part Of: RSC advances. Volume 12:Issue 24(2022)
• Page Start: 15378
• Page End: 15384
• Publication Date: 2022-05-20
• Subjects: Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540.5
• DOI: 10.1039/d2ra02441a
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2046-2069

Abstract

Abstract : Sodium alkoxide-mediated g-C3 N4 is presented to fabricate flexible electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers for the first time. Abstract : g-C3 N4 is a classic photocatalyst not only owing to the metal-free semiconducting electronic structure but also tunable multifunctional properties. However, strategies for chemical exfoliation of g-C3 N4 based on organic bases have been rarely reported. A family of sodium alkoxide-mediated g-C3 N4 has been prepared via a simple synthesis. The degradation rate of bulk g-C3 N4 is 39.8% when irradiation lasts 140 minutes. However, the degradation rate of g-C3 N4 –MeONa, g-C3 N4 –EtONa, and g-C3 N4 – t BuONa is 55.1%, 68.6%, and 79.1%, respectively, under the same conditions. Furthermore, g-C3 N4 – t BuONa has been immobilized on flexible electrospun PAN nanofibers to prepare floating photocatalysts. SEM analysis shows that the paper-based photocatalyst PAN/g-C3 N4 – t BuONa becomes a nanofiber membrane (A4 size, 210 mm × 297 mm). The nanofiber is approximately 350 nm in diameter. Interestingly, once synthesized, the g-C3 N4 – t BuONa particles move into the spinning solution, where the nanofiber wraps around them to form a monodisperse structure that resembles beads, or knots of 1–2 μm, on a string. The degradation efficiency of 10 mg L −1 MB solution can reach 100% for 2 hours until the solution becomes colorless. In addition, the photocatalytic mechanism studies have been validated. Different from H2 SO4 or HNO3, this work has proposed a facile strategy for designing preferable floating photocatalysts using sodium alkoxide.