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Facile fabrication of CdS/Cu-doped g-C3N4 heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

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Abstract

A semiconductor photocatalyst serves as the primary component in photocatalytic oxidation. Scientists are known to be working on modifying existing catalysts and developing new efficient photocatalysts. In recent years, g-C3N4 has attracted wide attention due to its high stability, non-toxicity, cost-effectiveness, and adjustable band-gap energy. However, g-C3N4 also has shortcomings such as ineffcient visible light absorption, a high recombination rate of photoinduced electrons and holes and low quantum efficiency, which significantly restrict its photocatalytic activity. Here, an innovative ternary composite photocatalyst CdS@Cu/g-C3N4 has been successfully fabricated using a simple method, and the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) by the CdS@Cu/g-C3N4 composite photocatalyst was also studied. Systematic studies showed that the photocatalytic degradation rate of CdS@Cu/g-C3N4 on MB reached 85.19% within 20 min, which was 2.58 and 1.88 times higher than that of CdS and g-C3N4, respectively. Free radical capture experiments showed that ·O2− plays a significant role during the photocatalytic process. It is postulated that a type II heterojunction might be formed between CdS and g-C3N4, effectively restricting photoinduced carrier recombination and enhancing visible light absorption. Cu doping changes the optical properties, affects the energy band structure of g-C3N4, increases the efficiency of electron transfer and improves the electron/hole separation rate, which helps to improve the photocatalytic activity. This work provides a valuable strategy to improve the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Cuilin Li, upon reasonable request.

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Funding

The work was supported by the Ph.D Fund Project of Lanzhou University of Arts and Sciences (2021SZZ11), Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (22JR5RA215), Teaching Quality Improvement Project of Lanzhou University of Arts and Sciences (Teaching Team) (2022-ZL-jxtd-01), Teaching Quality Improvement Project of Lanzhou University of Arts and Sciences (Education and Teaching Reform) (2021-ZL-jxgg-20), The Scientific Research and Innovation Team of Lanzhou University of Arts and Sciences (21KYCXTD03).

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  1. College of Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University of Art and Science, Beimiantan 400, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People’s Republic of China

    Cuilin Li, Qianqian Zhai, Wenqing Liu, Quanlu Yang, Qiao Li & Xinghui Zhang

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  1. Cuilin Li
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  2. Qianqian Zhai
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by CL, QZ and WL. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CL and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Cuilin Li or Quanlu Yang.

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Li, C., Zhai, Q., Liu, W. et al. Facile fabrication of CdS/Cu-doped g-C3N4 heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 1659 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-11055-9

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