Novel Mesoporous\nGraphite Carbon Nitride/BiOI Heterojunction for Enhancing Photocatalytic\nPerformance Under Visible-Light Irradiation

Abstract

A novel\norganic–inorganic three-dimensional (3D) mesoporous graphite\ncarbon nitride/BiOI (MCN/BiOI) heterojunction photocatalyst with excellent\nvisible-light-driven photocatalytic performance was synthesized by\na facile solvothermal method and used for degradation of bisphenol\nA (BPA) in water. After hybridization with MCN, a heterojunction was\nformed and the photogenerated carriers could be effectively separated\nby the internal electric field built at the heterojunction interface.\nThe photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical performance of BiOI were\nimproved and much higher than pure BiOI and MCN. The best photocatalytic\nperformance was achieved with MCN proportion of 10%, and the <i>k</i>_obs was approximately 1.6 times of pure BiOI\nand 3.4 times of MCN under simulated solar light irradiation, respectively.\nThe photocurrent intensity generated by 10%-MCN/BiOI electrode was\nabout 1.5 and 2.0 times of those induced by BiOI and MCN under visible-light\nirradiation, respectively. The superoxide radical species were predominant\nin the reaction system.