Construction of C3N4/Ag2S p-n semiconductor heterojunction coupled with Ag-induced SPR effect on CF cloth for improving photocatalytic activity

C3N4/Ag2S p-n semiconductor heterojunction coupled with Ag-induced SPR effect on carbon fiber cloth with large macroscopic area, recyclability and excellent photocatalytic performance was prepared by thermal condensation-chemical precipitation. CF/C3N4/Ag/Ag2S cloth showed strong Vis-NIR light absorption and outstanding separation efficiency of photo-generated electron and hole pairs. CF/C3N4/Ag/Ag2S cloth displayed a markedly enhanced catalytic activity (94 % of TC, 85 % of Cr(VI)) compared with CF/C3N4 cloth (52 % of TC, 50 % of Cr(VI)) or CF/Ag/Ag2S cloth (34 % of TC, 19 % of Cr(VI)), attributing to the establishment of p-n junction along with Ag SPR effect. Moreover, degradation pathways for TC were proposed utilizing HPLC-MS and Fukui index analysis, and photocatalytic mechanism was confirmed by active species experiments and DFT computations. This facile strategy provides novel approach to the synthesis of material with large macroscopic areas, recyclability, and excellent photocatalytic property for degrading contaminants from wastewater.