Bio-inspired hierarchical hetero-architectures of in-situ C-doped g-C3N4 grafted on C, N co-doped ZnO micro-flowers with booming solar photocatalytic activity

• Main Authors: Mohamed, Mohamad Azuwa, M. Zain, M. F., Minggu, Lorna Jeffery, Kassim, Mohammad, Jaafar, Juhana, Saidina Amin, Nor Aishah, Mastuli, Mohd. Sufri, Wu, Hao, Roong, Jien Wong, Yun, Hau Ng
• Format: Article
• Published: Korean Society of Industrial Engineering Chemistry, Elsevier B.V. 2019
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/87991/; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2019.05.003

The in-situ hierarchical heterojunction photocatalyst consists of C-doped g-C3N4 (CCN) grafted on the C, N co-doped ZnO were successfully realized via simple bio-template hydrothermal approach. The resultants hierarchical heterojunction photocatalyst exhibited excellent UV to the near infrared absorption capability. The electrochemical analysis and photoluminescence spectroscopy revealed that the hierarchical heterojunction photocatalyst possessed excellent charge generation and separation efficiency. The resultant hierarchical heterojunction photocatalyst exhibited remarkable photocatalytic performance in the photodegradation of bisphenol A and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under simulated solar irradiation. The enhancement of photocatalytic performance was mainly attributed to the combined effect of hierarchical morphology, in-situ doping, and heterojunction formation.