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

A. Seza, F. Soleimani, N. Naseri, M. Soltaninejad, S. M. Montazeri, S. K. Sadrnezhaad (Lead / Corresponding author), M. R. Mohammadi, H. Asgari Moghadam, M. Forouzandeh, M. H. Amin

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    73 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Highly porous nanocomposites of graphitic-carbon nitride and tin oxide (g-C 3 N 4 /SnO 2 ) 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 SnO 2 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 SnO 2 nanoparticles with the size of less than 10 nm on the porous C 3 N 4 sheets could be obtained, suggesting that in-situ synthesis of SnO 2 nanoparticles was responsible for the formation of g-C 3 N 4 . The process likely occurred by the aid of the large amounts of OH groups formed on the surfaces of SnO 2 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 m 2 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.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)153-161
    Number of pages9
    JournalApplied Surface Science
    Volume440
    Early online date28 Feb 2018
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 15 May 2018

    Keywords

    • Carbon nitride
    • g-C N /SnO nanocomposite
    • Microwave
    • Porous
    • Visible light catalyst
    • Water-splitting

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Chemistry
    • Condensed Matter Physics
    • General Physics and Astronomy
    • Surfaces and Interfaces
    • Surfaces, Coatings and Films

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