Photocatalytic performances of g-C3N4 based catalysts for RhB degradation: Effect of preparation conditions

Photocatalytic performances of g-C3N4 based materials prepared under different conditions for rhodamine B (RhB) degradation in aqueous solution were investigated, with the aim of optimizing the precursor, the thermal treatment atmosphere, the g-C3N4 loading and the oxide support. Characterizations such as XRD, TGA, N-2 physisorption, UV-Vis, SEM, TEM and PL indicated that the assumed materials with expected properties were prepared. Catalytic tests showed that sample prepared using dicyandiamide as precursors, TiO2 as support, thermal treatment in N-2 atmosphere, and at mass ratio of dicyandiamide to TiO2 equals to 0.75:1 are the best conditions of preparing active g-C3N4 based materials for the reaction, which could be attributed to a suitable surface chemistry and an optimum synergistic effect between g-C3N4 and TiO2 under these conditions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.