Novel g-C3N4 wrapped γ-Al2O3 microspheres heterojunction for efficient photocatalytic application under visible light irradiation

The novel g-C3N4 wrapped gamma-Al2O3 microspheres heterojunction was successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal process followed by calcination. The photocatalytic performances of the composite were evaluated by the degradation of methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The obtained Al2O3/g-C3N4 heterojunction exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity compared to pure g-C3N4. The enhanced performance may be mainly attributed to the tight contact between the components of the heterostructure as well as the efficient transfer of photoinduced electrons from the valence band (VB) of g-C3N4 to the defect sites of gamma-Al2O3. The trapping experiment results indicated that the center dot O-2 (-) radicals and holes (h(+)) are main active species in the decomposition of MO. This work will provide new ideas for manipulation of high-performance heterojunction for practical photocatalysis applications in water pollution controls.