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Enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity for g-C3N4/SnO2:Sb composites induced by Sb doping

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Abstract

In this paper, g-C3N4/SnO2:Sb composite photocatalysts were fabricated by in situ loading Sb-doped SnO2 (SnO2:Sb) nanoparticles on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets via a facile hydrothermal method. The synthesized g-C3N4/SnO2:Sb composites delivered enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance for degradation of rhodamine B in comparison with g-C3N4/SnO2 composites without doping Sb. Various techniques including XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR, XPS, PL and electrochemical method were employed to demonstrate the successful fabrication of g-C3N4/SnO2:Sb composite and to investigate the enhanced mechanism of photocatalytic activity. The improvement of visible light absorption and the promotion of separation efficiency and interfacial transfer of photogenerated carriers induced by Sb doping were responsible for the enhancement of photocatalytic activity. This study provides a simple and convenient method to synthesize a visible light responsive catalyst with promising performance for the potential application in environmental protection.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51777138 and 51102265).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Laboratory for Photoelectric Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Wenyu Gao & Zhiyong Mao

  2. China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology, Beijing, 100028, China

    Yang Zhao

  3. Key Laboratory of Display Materials and Photoelectric Devices, Tianjin University of Technology, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Dasen Bi, Jingjing Chen & Dajian Wang

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  1. Wenyu Gao
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  2. Yang Zhao
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Correspondence to Zhiyong Mao or Dajian Wang.

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Gao, W., Zhao, Y., Mao, Z. et al. Enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity for g-C3N4/SnO2:Sb composites induced by Sb doping. J Mater Sci 53, 9473–9485 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2259-7

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