The enhanced photocatalytic activity of ultrasonic spray reduction of silver nanoclusters over lamellar graphite carbon nitride: Interface reaction, theoretical calculation and degradation pathway

Noble metals loading was found to be a promising strategy to improve the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4. In this, we synthesized Ag/g-C3N4 composite (Ag/CN-sr) by an improved chemical reduction via ultrasonic spray technology. This process avoided the agglomeration of g-C3N4 nanosheets and created a micron-scale reaction condition, which promoted the uniform distribution and size reduction of Ag nanoclusters. The results indicated that the apparent reaction rate constant for RhB degradation was 0.0322 min(-1), which was about 3 and 7 times higher than that of Ag/CN composite prepared by the conventional chemical reduction method (Ag/CN-cr) and bare g-C3N4 nanosheets, respectively. Furthermore, the degradation pathway of RhB was proposed by LC-MS and Multiwfn wave function analysis. For the first time, the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis, orbital-weighted dual descriptor (OW DD) analysis and Atoms-In-Molecules (AIM) topological analysis were combined to study the degradation path of RhB from the atomic point of view. The theoretical analysis results were in good agreement with the LC-MS results. (C) 2021 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Noble metals loading on g-C3N4 significantly improved the degradation rate of RhB, with the Ag/g-C3N4 composite prepared by an improved chemical reduction method showing a rate constant about 3 to 7 times higher than other materials. The degradation pathway of RhB was investigated through LC-MS and various theoretical analyses, providing atomic-level insights into the degradation process.