Synergistic effect of efficient adsorption g-C3N4/ZnO composite for photocatalytic property Original Research Article

Novel g-C3N4/ZnO composite photocatalyst was synthesized from an oxygen-containing precursor by direct thermal decomposition urea in air without any other templates assistance. Different percentages of g-C3N4 were hybridized with ZnO via the monolayer-dispersed method. The prepared g-C3N4/ZnO composites were characterized by XRD, SEM, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), FT-IR, TEM and XPS. The composites showed much higher efficiency for degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) than ZnO under UV and visible light irradiation. Especially, the photocatalytic efficiency was the highest under UV light irradiation when the percentage of g-C3N4 was 6%. The improved photocatalytic activity may be due to synergistic effect of photon acquisition and direct contact between organic dyestuff and photocatalyst. Then, effective separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs at the interface of g-C3N4 is an important factor for improvement of photocatalytic activity. This work indicates that g-C3N4 hybrid semiconductors photocatalyst is a promising material in pollutants degradation.