Study on the microstructural evolution and photocatalytic mechanism of (Au)/PCN photocatalyst

In this paper, the microstructure evolution of polymeric carbon nitride was investigated and Au ions was used to improve its photocatalytic efficiency. Their structures were investigated by FT-IR, XPS, XRD, SEM and TEM. Their specific surface area and aperture distribution were measured by BET. Meanwhile, the energy band structure and electron-hole separation efficiency were analyzed by UV-Vis and PL spectroscopy. In addition, the photocatalytic performance of the photocatalysts was assessed by photocatalytic degradation of RhB and pho-tocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The results showed that 600-PCN possessed the best photocatalytic performance, with a degradation rate of 46.92 % in 150 min. What's more, the degradation rate of RhB solution by 2 % Au/ PCN reached 47.88 %, which was 2.17 times higher than that of 550-PCN (22.01 %). During the degradation process, h+ oxidatively degrade RhB. The hydrogen production rate of 2 % Au/PCN was about 11.658 mu mol/g/h, which was 41.23 times higher than that of 550-PCN (0.282 mu mol/g/h).