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. 2021 Oct:281:130825.
doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130825. Epub 2021 May 10.

Construction of heterojunction photoanode via facile synthesis of CoOx/CN nanocomposites for enhanced visible-light-driven photoelectrochemical degradation of clofibric acid

Lu Zhang  1 , Ci Wei  1 , Hanyu Tang  2 , Hui Wang  3 , Zhaoyong Bian  4
Affiliations

Construction of heterojunction photoanode via facile synthesis of CoOx/CN nanocomposites for enhanced visible-light-driven photoelectrochemical degradation of clofibric acid

Lu Zhang et al. Chemosphere. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Visible-light-driven photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) oxidation has been explored extensively to develop highly active materials. Herein, a visible-light-active p-Co3O4 and n-g-C3N4 heterojunction (CoOx/CN) photoanode, constructed by simple one-pot calcination, was shown to remove clofibric acid (CA) from water through a PEC process. Compared with pristine g-C3N4, the optimal photoanode (15%-CoOx/CN) exhibited stable and effective PEC performance and CA degradation performance, a 100-fold enhancement in photocurrent density, and around 1.5-fold decreased efficiency over 6 h. The p-n heterojunctions were shown to increased the charge density and conductivity of g-C3N4 for rapid charge transfer. Furthermore, interface contact broadened the visible light absorption and accelerated charge carrier transfer. Notably, the catalysts established p-n heterojunctions, which hindered the bulk recombination of photoinduced carriers and improved the charge separation efficiency. The CoOx/CN photoanodes showed a pair of redox peaks at a potential of 0.3 V vs. Ag/AgCl, indicating good Co3O4 redox behavior under alkaline conditions. The 15%-CoOx/CN photoanode displayed excellent PEC performance of up to 0.16 mA cm-2 in 0.1 M KOH solution at 1.23 V vs. RHE (reversible hydrogen electrode) and long-term stability for up to 12 h. The CoOx/CN photoanodes maintained excellent PEC activities for CA removal, even under acidic and alkaline conditions conditions (pH 3-10). Probable degradation pathway of CA was proposed according to the main degradation intermediates. This study shows that the synergistic effect of p-n heterojunctions in photoelectrodes provides a new approach to the rational application of new photoanode candidates and PEC performance optimization.

Keywords: Charge separation; Clofibric acid degradation; Photoelectrode; g-C(3)N(4); p-n heterjunction.

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