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The synthesis of graphene-TiO2/g-C3N4 super-thin heterojunctions with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activities

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Abstract

In this paper, an efficient strategy for the synthesis of graphene nanobelt-titanium dioxide/graphitic carbon nitride (graphene-TiO2/g-C3N4) heterostructure photocatalyst was applied to fabricate a kind of visible-light-driven photocatalyst. The heterostructure shows higher absorption edge towards harvesting more solar energy compared with pure TiO2 and pure g-C3N4 respectively. Furthermore, the as-prepared graphene-TiO2/g-C3N4 heterostructure can show enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation. These outstanding performances of photocatalytic activities for graphene-TiO2/g-C3N4 composites can be attributed to the heterojunction interfaces which can separate the electron-hole pairs and impede the recombination of electrons and holes more efficiently. This study conclusively demonstrates a facile and environmentally friendly new strategy to design highly efficient graphene-TiO2/g-C3N4 heterostructure photocatalytic materials for potential applications under visible-light irradiation.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (grant nos. 21671133, 21271010, 21604051, 21507081), the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (no. 15ZZ088, no.15SG49), Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (18020500800), and International Joint Laboratory on Resource Chemistry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Energy-Saving in Heat Exchange Systems, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, People’s Republic of China

    Shuaiqi Gong, Zhengjun Jiang, Sheng Zhu, Jinchen Fan, Qunjie Xu & Yulin Min

  2. Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, People’s Republic of China

    Sheng Zhu, Jinchen Fan, Qunjie Xu & Yulin Min

  3. College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, People’s Republic of China

    Sheng Zhu, Qunjie Xu & Yulin Min

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  1. Shuaiqi Gong
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  2. Zhengjun Jiang
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  3. Sheng Zhu
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  4. Jinchen Fan
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  5. Qunjie Xu
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  6. Yulin Min
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Correspondence to Sheng Zhu, Qunjie Xu or Yulin Min.

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Gong, S., Jiang, Z., Zhu, S. et al. The synthesis of graphene-TiO2/g-C3N4 super-thin heterojunctions with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activities. J Nanopart Res 20, 310 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-018-4399-8

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