Improvement of g-C3N4 photocatalytic properties using the Hummers method

Jing Feng; Tingting Chen; Shenna Liu; Qihang Zhou; Yueming Ren; Yanzhuo Lv; Zhuangjun Fan

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2016.06.040

Improvement of g-C3N4 photocatalytic properties using the Hummers method

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2016 Oct 1:479:1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2016.06.040. Epub 2016 Jun 16.

Authors

Jing Feng¹, Tingting Chen², Shenna Liu², Qihang Zhou², Yueming Ren², Yanzhuo Lv², Zhuangjun Fan³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials & Surface Technology of Ministry of Education, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, PR China. Electronic address: fengjing@hrbeu.edu.cn.
² Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials & Surface Technology of Ministry of Education, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, PR China.
³ Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials & Surface Technology of Ministry of Education, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, PR China. Electronic address: fanzhj666@163.com.

PMID: 27343763
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2016.06.040

Abstract

In this study, graphitic C3N4 (g-C3N4) with high photocatalytic properties to methylene blue (MB) was synthesized by treating the bulk g-C3N4 using the Hummers method. The bulk g-C3N4 was obtained by calcining dicyandiamide. The g-C3N4 treated by the Hummers method (E-g-C3N4) was characterized and utilized for the photocatalytic removal of MB. The results showed that the Hummers treatment exfoliated the nanosheets bulk g-C3N4 into nanorods and improved the dispersion of E-g-C3N4 in an aqueous solution. It also distinctly enhanced the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 to MB, i.e., the removal efficiency increased from 38.45% for the bulk g-C3N4 to 96.61% for the E-g-C3N4.

Keywords: Exfoliate; Graphitic C(3)N(4); Hummers method; Photocatalysis.