Photocatalytic CO2 reduction and pesticide degradation over g-C3N4/Ce2S3 heterojunction

Abstract

The ecosystem is being exposed to a huge amount of CO2 as a result of excessive usage of fossil fuels. Global ecological imbalance is a result of this. In addition to being a pollutant, CO2 has the potential to be converted into beneficial carbonaceous products when exposed to light and thereby supporting the two important sectors of energy and the environment. Hence, authors in the present work describes the fabrication 1:1 ratio of g-C3N4-Ce2S3 (GCN/CeS) heterostructure through solvothermal approach. The spherical CeS surrounding the sheet-like GCN heterostructure is confirmed by microscopic characterization. It is found that GCN and CeS have bandgap of 2.68 and 2.06 eV, respectively. In comparison to pristine CeS and GCN, enhanced selective CO2 was seen in the GCN/CeS heterostructure for 6 h (H2-123.9, CO: 166.8 and CH4:236.4 µmol g−1). The higher activity seen in GCN/CeS is supported by photoelectrochemical and optical characterizations. Additionally, the hazardous herbicide Atrazine (ATZ) was subjected to light-driven degradation using synthesized materials, and the reaction conditions were tuned for maximum effectiveness. Under visible light, a 95% degradation of ATZ was observed in the GCN/CeS heterostructure. Liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) analysis was carried out to deduce the degradation pathway and mechanism of ATZ degradation. The enhanced activity in GCN/CeS could be attributed to formation of heterojunction between GCN and CeS with a bandgap of 2.29 eV. ATZ degradation was evaluated under different conditions like varied water matrices, anions, and cations that affect photocatalysis. The GCN/CeS heterostructure's high degree of stability demonstrates its effectiveness in photocatalytic processes.