Fabrication of electrospun nanofiber composite of g-C3N4 and Au nanoparticles as plasmonic photocatalyst

Abstract

Abstract In this research, we have fabricated a composite nanofiber mat of plasmonic photocatalyst consisting of g-C3N4, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and random nanofibers of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) by electrospinning. The structure and chemical properties of the nanofiber mat were investigated in detail by ESEM, TEM, AFM, XPS, FTIR, XRD, TGA, PL spectroscopy and UV-Vis reflectance spectra. Imaging of the composite map confirmed that the fiber diameter was in the range of 100-400 nm with the g-C3N4 size in the range of 2-8 μm. Backscattered (Z-contrast) electron imaging in ESEM revealed that the AuNP particle size is in the range of 60-160 nm with Au content 0.02%. XPS and FTIR recognized the chemical identify of individual components and it was revealed that chemical structure of those components remained unaltered. PL spectroscopic results revealed slight PL quenching caused by the relaxation of charge carriers in the AuNPs. Bandgap energy, as calculated by Kubeka-Munk analysis of the of the reflectance data, was found to be 2.94 eV. The photocatalytic efficiency of the nanofiber mat was confirmed by photoelectrochemical study and photocatalytic degradation of a dye, methylene blue. Methylene blue was successfully degraded by the composite mat under repeated cycles.