Removal of Cr(VI) from water by a biochar-coupled g-C3N4 nanosheets composite and performance of a recycled photocatalyst in single and combined pollution systems

By Kexin Li, Ziai Huang, Suiyi Zhu, Shuai Luo, Liu-shui Yan, Yuhua Dai, Yihang Guo, Yuxin Yang. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2019

171 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract A series of biochar-coupled graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (BPCMSs/g-C3N4 NSs) composites was successfully fabricated through a simple two-step calcination strategy by using waste Camellia oleifera shells (WCOSs) and melamine as raw materials. Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] or total chromium (T-Cr) in water could be completely removed or mostly recovered through adsorption combined with photocatalytic reduction by using the as-prepared BPCMSs/g-C3N4 NSs. The adsorbed Cr(VI) on BPCMSs/g-C3N4 NSs could be reduced by photogenerated electrons into trivalent chromium ions (Cr3+) and stably fixed on BPCMSs/g-C3N4 NSs after strengthening. Interestingly, we found that the photocatalytic activity of the recycled Cr3+/BPCMSs/g-C3N4 NSs was remarkably improved compared with that of the fresh BPCMSs/g-C3N4 NSs for the degradation of aqueous organic pollutants. We tested the photocatalytic performance of the recycled Cr3+/BPCMSs/g-C3N4 NSs in the combined pollution system containing Cr(VI) and 4-fluorophenol (4-FP) and observed that a synergistic photocatalytic effect occurred in the Cr(VI)/4-FP combined pollution system under acidic and neutral conditions.

Subfields: Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Materials Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/90f1e1ae13f0b548f3462bf32439fc6b410c2a85