Ternary Nanocomposites of Copper/graphitic‐Phase Carbon Nitride/rare‐Earth Pentaborate for Photocatalytic Applications Under Simulated Sunlight Illumination

Abstract

AbstractA wide variety of borate materials are emerging as photocatalysts. Usually, the borates possess a large bandgap which limits their absorption of visible light, and the strategy of preparing nanocomposites is an effective way to enhance the absorption of light. X‐ray powder diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to show that a three‐component nanocomposites was successfully prepared. For the photo‐degraded reactions of rhodamine B(RhB) and doxycycline hydrochloride(DH), the optimum composition of the ternary composite is a molar ratio of Gd0.9Ce0.1B5O9(GCBO) and g‐C3N4(CN) of 7 : 93, besides the mass of Cu is 2 % of the sum of the above two masses, and the ternary composite is abbreviated as 2Cu/CN@GCBO‐7. The kinetic constant for the photodegradation of RhB of sample 2Cu/CN@GCBO‐7 is 0.0580 min−1, which is 3.6 and 3.8 times that of non‐composite CN and GCBO. The mechanism postulated by free radical quenching experiments suggests that the importance of the three radicals is hole >⋅OH>⋅O2− in the photodegradation reaction. In addition, the kinetic constant for the photodegradation of DH of sample 2Cu/CN@GCBO‐7 is 0.0018 min−1, and the sample 2Cu/CN@GCBO‐7 has a hydrogen evolution rate of 11.8 μmol/h/g.