Efficient visible-light photocatalytic oxidation of gaseous NO with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) activated by the alkaline hydrothermal treatment and mechanism analysis

In this paper, an enhanced visible-light photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) of NO (similar to 400 ppm) in the presence of the graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) treated by the alkaline hydrothermal treatment is evaluated. Various g-C3N4 samples were treated in different concentrations of NaOH solutions and the sample treated in 0.12 mol L-1 of NaOH solution possesses the largest BET specific surface area as well as the optimal ability of the PCO of NO. UV-vis diffuse reflection spectra (DRS) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra were also conducted, and the highly improved photocatalytic performance is ascribed to the large specific surface area and high pore volume, which provides more adsorption and active sites, the wide visible-light adsorption edge and the narrow band gap, which is favorable for visible-light activation, as well as the decreased recombination rate of photo-generated electrons and holes, which could contribute to the production of active species. Fluorescence spectra and a trapping experiment were conducted to further the mechanism analysis of the PCO of NO, illustrating that superoxide radicals (center dot O-2(-)) play the dominant role among active species in the PCO of NO. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.