Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets obtained by liquid stripping as efficient photocatalysts under visible light

Abstract

Herein, well-scattered g-C₃N₄ nanosheets were obtained using a liquid stripping method in an ammonia solution at various temperatures. The phase structures, morphologies, and elemental compositions were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectra, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The nanosheets with sizes of several hundred nanometers can be obtained via liquid stripping. The photocatalytic performance of the g-C₃N₄ nanosheets was measured by degrading RhB under visible-light illumination. The g-C₃N₄ (30) nanosheets can achieve the highest degradation rate of 88% in 60 min, which is 5 times that of bulk g-C₃N₄. The mechanisms of the enhancement were studied by discussing the whole photocatalytic process. It has been observed that high specific surface area plays a key role in enhancing the photocatalytic performance.