Facile synthesis of g-C3N4 nanosheets loaded with WO3 nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets loaded with WO3 nanoparticles were prepared via heat treatment of g-C3N4 together with WOx-EDA nanobelts. The thermal treatment temperature and WOx-EDA precursor play the key role in enhancing the interaction between WO3 nanoparticles and g-C3N4 nanosheets, because the temperature of thermal decomposition of WOx-EDA (∼400 °C) is close to the thermal exfoliation temperature of g-C3N4. The structure evolution and promotion effect of the nanocomposites in photocatalytic performance were well studied. It is found that WO3 nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on the surface of the g-C3N4 nanosheets, and the close integration of WO3 and g-C3N4 lead to the high photocatalytic activity in the degradation of RhB under visible light irradiation. Meanwhile, a larger specific area and increase of visible light absorption are also of benefit to speed up the degradation of organic dye. Also, the mechanism of the photocatalytic reaction and its reutilization properties were investigated.