Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance of CeO2/g-C3N4 Heterostructured Photocatalyst Induced by Efficient Charge Transfer

Abstract

The visible-light photocatalysts with high-activity are of great concern for applications in environmental and energy fields. A CeO2/g-C3N4 heterostructured photocatalyst with enhanced visible-light responsive photocatalytic activity was prepared by the hydrothermal-calcination method. The photocatalytic performances of the CeO2/g-C3N4 photocatalyst were evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). The CeO2/g-C3N4 photocatalyst with 0.03 of mass ratio exhibits a remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activity in degrading RhB under visible-light irradiation (>400 nm). The photocatalytic reaction rate constant is up to 0.031 min–1, which is 4.4 times and 2.6 times higher than those of the pure g-C3N4 and the uncalcined CeO2/g-C3N4 photocatalyst, separately. The photocatalytic mechanism was emphatically investigated. The significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance should be due to the efficient photo-generated carriers transfer in the CeO2/g-C3N4 heterojunction. More Ce4+ content in the CeO2/g-C3N4 photocatalyst is prone to trap photo-generated electrons (e–), which facilitates the separation of photo-generated carriers. This work provides a facile way to fabricate the carbon-nitride-based photocatalysts with efficient photocatalytic performance.