title: Metal-free hybrids of graphitic carbon nitride and nanodiamonds for photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic applications.
abstract: Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has been considered as a metal-free, cost-effective, eco-friendly and efficient catalyst for various photoelectrochemical applications. However, compared to conventional metal-based photocatalysts, its photocatalytic activity is still low because of the low mobility of carriers restricted by the polymer nature. Herein, a series of hybrids of g-C3N4(GCN) and nanodiamonds (NDs) were synthesized using a solvothermal method. The photoelectrochemical performance and photocatalytic efficiency of the GCN/NDs were investigated by means of the generation of photocurrent and photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) solutions under UV-visible light irradiations. In this study, the sample of GCN/ND-33% derived from 0.1g GCN and 0.05g NDs displayed the highest photocatalytic activity and the strongest photocurrent density. The mechanism of enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performances was also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, WA 6845, Australia.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, WA 6845, Australia.
authors.forename: Huayang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, WA 6845, Australia.
authors.forename: Xiaochen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia. Electronic address: h.sun@ecu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Hongqi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, WA 6845, Australia.
authors.forename: Shaomin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, WA 6845, Australia.
authors.forename: Moses O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Tade
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, WA 6845, Australia. Electronic address: Shaobin.wang@curtin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Shaobin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: Carbon nitride; Nanodiamonds; Photocatalysis; Photoelectrochemical; Solvothermal