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Metal-free n/n–junctioned graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4): a study to elucidate its charge transfer mechanism and application for environmental remediation

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Abstract

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has been regarded as a promising visible light–driven photocatalyst ascribable to its tailorable structures, thermal stability and chemical inertness. Enhanced photocatalytic activity is achievable by the construction of homojunction nanocomposites to reduce the undesired recombination of photogenerated charge carriers. In the present work, a novel g-C3N4/g-C3N4 metal-free homojunction photocatalyst was synthesized via hydrothermal polymerization. The g-C3N4/g-C3N4 derived from urea and thiourea demonstrated admirable photocatalytic activity towards rhodamine B (RhB) degradation upon irradiation of an 18 W LED light. The viability of the photoreaction with a low-powered excitation source highlighted the economic and environmental benefits of the process. The optimal g-C3N4/g-C3N4 homojunction photocatalyst exhibited a 2- and 1.8-fold increase in efficiency in relative to pristine g-C3N4 derived from urea and thiourea respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic performance is credited to the improved interfacial transfer and separation of electron-hole pairs across the homojunction interface. Furthermore, an excellent photochemical stability and durability is displayed by g-C3N4/g-C3N4 after three consecutive cycles. In addition, a plausible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed based on various scavenging tests. Overall, experimental results generated from this study is expected to intrigue novel research inspirations in developing metal-free homojunction photocatalysts to be feasible for large-scale wastewater treatment without compromising economically.

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Funding

This work was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) Malaysia under the Fundamental-Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) (Ref no: FRGS/1/2018/TK02/HWUM/03/2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Jalan Venna P5/2, Precinct 5, 62200, Putrajaya, Malaysia

    Sue Jiun Phang & Jin Mei Goh

  2. Multidisciplinary Platform of Advanced Engineering, Chemical Engineering Discipline, School of Engineering, Monash University, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia

    Lling-Lling Tan, Wuen Pei Cathie Lee & Siang-Piao Chai

  3. Entropic Interface Group, Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore, 487372, Singapore

    Wuen Pei Cathie Lee

  4. School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia, 43900, Sunsuria City, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

    Wee-Jun Ong

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  1. Sue Jiun Phang
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Contributions

LL and WJ contributed to the study conception and design. Overall progress of the project was supervised by LL. Experimental work and preparation of manuscript were done by SJ and JM. Material characterizations were carried out by WP and SP. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Lling-Lling Tan.

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Phang, S.J., Goh, J.M., Tan, LL. et al. Metal-free n/n–junctioned graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4): a study to elucidate its charge transfer mechanism and application for environmental remediation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 4388–4403 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10814-z

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