Photocatalytic Activity of Nonprecious Metal WSe2/g-C3N4 Composite Under Visible Light Irradiation

The WSe2/g-C3N4 (graphite carbon nitride) composite with photocatalytic properties was synthesized using a hydrothermal method. This synthesis pathway can be characterized by being simple, inexpensive and nonpolluting, integrating the concept of green chemistry. The WSe2/g-C3N4 composite could effectively degrade methyl orange solution under visible light irradiation. The decolorization experiment of methyl orange solution shows that the degradation rate of the 30 wt.% WSe2/g-C3N4 composite can reach 98.7% after 100 min of illumination, while the degradation rate of pure g-C3N4 was only 87.6% under the same conditions. This can be attributed to the fact that the combination of WSe2 and g-C3N4 nanosheets can increase the number of active binding sites, increasing the rate of charge separation and transport ability, decreasing the recombination rate of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Therefore, the WSe2/g-C3N4 composite will have potential development as a new material with low cost, easy synthesis and excellent performance in photocatalytic degradation of water pollution.