ABSTRACT
The reasonable construction of heterojunction photocatalysts with clear nanostructures and a good interface contact especially the one-dimensional/two-dimensional (1D/2D) composite heterojunction with unique morphology is considered one of the most effective strategies for designing highly efficient photocatalysts. Herein, a series of the 1D ß-keto-enamine-based covalent organic framework (COF)/2D g-C3N4 composite materials COF-CN (1:x; where 1:x represents the mass ratio of COF and g-C3N4, x = 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20) is prepared through the in situ reaction of 2,4,6-triformylphloroglucinol (Tp) and benzidine (BD) in stripped g-C3N4 suspension. A series of characterizations, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), have verified their 1D/2D heterojunction structure. With the introduction of 1D COF nanobelts, the absorption of the composite is largely extended to 560 nm. Photocatalytic experiments reveal that the composite COF/CN shows evidently superior photocatalytic performance than individual COF and g-C3N4. The optimized COF-CN (1:10) exhibits a H2 production rate of 12.8 mmol g-1·h-1 under visible-light (λ ≥ 420 nm) irradiation, which is about 62 and 284 times higher than those of COF and g-C3N4, respectively. The apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of COF-CN (1:10) is about 15.09% under 500 nm light irradiation, which is one of the highest among previous COF- or g-C3N4-based materials. This work provides important strategies for designing and constructing high-efficiency heterojunction photocatalysts with multidimensional features.
ABSTRACT
Two-dimensional (2D) heteromaterials with large interface contact and intimate interfacial charge transition have been considered to be an ideal model for constructing highly efficient photocatalysts. However, few studies have reported on these 2D heterojunctions. Herein, we report a series of new 2D heterojunctions comprising polyimide (PI) and perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (TD). These heterojunctions, denoted as PI-TDx (where x represents the amount of TD added, i.e., x = 0.13, 0.18, 0.27, 0.54, and 1.08 g), were prepared by the solid thermal copolymerization of melamine (MA), pyromellitic dianhydride (PD), and different amounts of TD. FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy analyses were used to verify the 2D heterojunction structure. Photocatalytic experiments reveal that PI-TDx exhibit excellent and stable photocatalytic performance for the degradation of the organic dyes rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl violet (MV), as well as for the photoreduction of Cr(vi), under visible-light irradiation. Among the samples, PI-TD0.18 exhibits the best photocatalytic performance. Its activity is about 2.7 times and 7.5 times higher than that of individual PIMP (formed by MA and PD) and PIMT (formed by MA and TD) for RhB degradation, respectively. Notably, PI-TD0.18 retains a certain photocatalytic activity under light irradiation at 600 nm. The photocatalytic-mechanism study demonstrates that PI-TD0.18 has a classic type-II heterojunction. Its 2D heterojunction greatly enhances the visible-light absorption of the composites and effectively suppresses the radiation recombination of photogenerated carriers, thereby improving its charge transfer and separation abilities and providing excellent photocatalytic performance. This work may serve as an important reference for the design and construction of new highly efficient 2D organic conjugated-polymer photocatalysts.
