Hydrothermal synthesis of novel g-C3N4/BiOCl heterostructure nanodiscs for efficient visible light photodegradation of Rhodamine B

Novel g-C3N4/BiOCl heterojunction nanodiscs were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. A series of two-dimensional (2D) g-C3N4/BiOCl hybrids featuring tetragonal nanodisc-like BiOCl modified with ultrathin graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets were prepared via in situ deposition of BiOCl nuclei onto protonated g-C3N4. The ultrathin g-C3N4 was produced by pyrolysis of melamine using NH4Cl as a dynamic gas template. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, electron spin resonance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence emission spectroscopy were employed to study the microstructures, composition, morphologies, and optical properties of the as-prepared hybrids. The photocatalytic activity of these heterojunction photocatalysts was investigated by degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The results revealed that the hybrid photocatalysts exhibited improved efficiency for RhB photodegradation compared to BiOCl and g-C3N4. Enhanced photocatalytic performance is mainly attributed to the heterojunction structure at the interface between BiOCl nanodiscs and g-C3N4 nanosheets, resulting in efficient charge separation and migration. Furthermore, the photosensitization of RhB also plays a crucial role in the photodegradation process over pure BiOCl under visible light.