TY - JOUR
T1 - Fabrication and characterization of carbon quantum dots decorated hollow porous graphitic carbon nitride through polyaniline for photocatalysis
AU - Balakumar, Vellaichamy
AU - Ramalingam, Manivannan
AU - Sekar, Karthikeyan
AU - Chuaicham, Chitiphon
AU - Sasaki, Keiko
N1 - Funding Information:
V. B. and K. S. would like to thank the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) for providing a postdoctoral fellowship for foreign researchers (P19393) and the research grant (JP19F19393). HR(S)TEM performed at the Ultra-Microscopy Research Centre (URC) at Kyushu University. This work was partly supported by Nanotechnology Platform Program (Molecule and Material Synthesis) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan.
Funding Information:
V. B. and K. S. would like to thank the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) for providing a postdoctoral fellowship for foreign researchers (P19393) and the research grant (JP19F19393). HR(S)TEM performed at the Ultra-Microscopy Research Centre (URC) at Kyushu University. This work was partly supported by Nanotechnology Platform Program (Molecule and Material Synthesis) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2021/12/15
Y1 - 2021/12/15
N2 - Metal-free photocatalysts are widely used to decontaminate aqueous solutions by eliminating toxic and non-biodegradable compounds. It is desirable to develop a photocatalyst with high charge separation and migration efficiency. The addition of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) to graphitic carbon nitride with polyaniline (PANI) can improve its light absorption abilities and reduce the recombination of holes and electrons. In this study, a novel CQDs decorated on PANI with hollow porous graphitic carbon nitride (CN) was fabricated via an in situ polymerization followed by an ultra-sonication. The optimal CQDs–loaded CN-PANI nanocomposite exhibited the high visible light absorption with a high specific surface area. Furthermore, better photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) was achieved under the visible light. The improved photocatalytic activity of CN-PANI-CQDs (5.0%) can be attributed to its higher charge separation, and destruction of recombination rate through the heterojunction of excited electrons among CN, PANI, and CQDs. This effect was further confirmed by high photocurrent intensity, low photoluminescence emission, and electrical resistance. In addition, different parameters including catalyst weight, initial CIP concentration, and interfering effect of anions during CIP removal were investigated. The main active species in the degradation of CIP were identified to h+, •OH, and •O2− through the scavenger test. The high reusability and stability of the photocatalyst composite were also verified. The degradation intermediates and reaction pathways were identified. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the photocatalyst was evaluated using different toxic pollutants including imidacloprid, tetracycline, phenol, and rhodamine B under similar conditions. The CQDs–decorated CN-PANI was proved as a promising material for efficient photodegradation of toxic pollutants in water.
AB - Metal-free photocatalysts are widely used to decontaminate aqueous solutions by eliminating toxic and non-biodegradable compounds. It is desirable to develop a photocatalyst with high charge separation and migration efficiency. The addition of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) to graphitic carbon nitride with polyaniline (PANI) can improve its light absorption abilities and reduce the recombination of holes and electrons. In this study, a novel CQDs decorated on PANI with hollow porous graphitic carbon nitride (CN) was fabricated via an in situ polymerization followed by an ultra-sonication. The optimal CQDs–loaded CN-PANI nanocomposite exhibited the high visible light absorption with a high specific surface area. Furthermore, better photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) was achieved under the visible light. The improved photocatalytic activity of CN-PANI-CQDs (5.0%) can be attributed to its higher charge separation, and destruction of recombination rate through the heterojunction of excited electrons among CN, PANI, and CQDs. This effect was further confirmed by high photocurrent intensity, low photoluminescence emission, and electrical resistance. In addition, different parameters including catalyst weight, initial CIP concentration, and interfering effect of anions during CIP removal were investigated. The main active species in the degradation of CIP were identified to h+, •OH, and •O2− through the scavenger test. The high reusability and stability of the photocatalyst composite were also verified. The degradation intermediates and reaction pathways were identified. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the photocatalyst was evaluated using different toxic pollutants including imidacloprid, tetracycline, phenol, and rhodamine B under similar conditions. The CQDs–decorated CN-PANI was proved as a promising material for efficient photodegradation of toxic pollutants in water.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cej.2021.131739
DO - 10.1016/j.cej.2021.131739
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85113335459
VL - 426
JO - Chemical Engineering Journal
JF - Chemical Engineering Journal
SN - 1385-8947
M1 - 131739
ER -