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Novel microwave-assisted synthesis of porous g-C3N4/SnO2 nanocomposite for solar water-splitting

Seza, A ; Sharif University of Technology | 2018

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.01.133
  3. Publisher: Elsevier B.V , 2018
  4. Abstract:
  5. Highly porous nanocomposites of graphitic-carbon nitride and tin oxide (g-C3N4/SnO2) were prepared through simple pyrolysis of urea molecules under microwave irradiation. The initial amount of tin was varied in order to investigate the effect of SnO2 content on preparation and properties of the composites. The synthesized nanocomposites were well-characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, BET, FTIR, XPS, DRS, and PL. A homogeneous distribution of SnO2 nanoparticles with the size of less than 10 nm on the porous C3N4 sheets could be obtained, suggesting that in-situ synthesis of SnO2 nanoparticles was responsible for the formation of g-C3N4. The process likely occurred by the aid of the large amounts of OH groups formed on the surfaces of SnO2 nanoparticles during the polycondensation reactions of tin derivatives which could facilitate the pyrolysis of urea to carbon nitride. The porous nanocomposite prepared with initial tin amount of 0.175 g had high specific surface area of 195 m2 g−1 which showed high efficiency photoelectrochemical water-splitting ability. A maximum photocurrent density of 33 µA cm−2 was achieved at an applied potential of 0.5 V when testing this nanocomposite as photo-anode in water-splitting reactions under simulated visible light irradiation, introducing it as a promising visible light photoactive material. © 2018 Elsevier B.V
  6. Keywords:
  7. Carbon nitride ; g-C3N4/SnO2 nanocomposite ; Microwave ; Porous ; Visible light catalyst ; Water-splitting ; Carbon nitride ; Irradiation ; Light ; Metabolism ; Microwave irradiation ; Microwaves ; Nanocomposites ; Nanoparticles ; Nitrides ; Nitrogen compounds ; Pyrolysis ; Synthesis (chemical) ; Tin ; Tin oxides ; Urea ; High specific surface area ; Microwave assisted synthesis ; Photoelectrochemical water splitting ; Polycondensation reactions ; Porous ; Visible light ; Water splitting ; Water splitting reactions ; Tin compounds
  8. Source: Applied Surface Science ; Volume 440 , 15 May , 2018 , Pages 153-161 ; 01694332 (ISSN)
  9. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169433218301466