Enhanced Ethylene Photodegradation Performance of g-C3N4-Ag3PO4 Composites with Direct Z-Scheme Configuration.

Photocatalytic oxidation of ethylene continues to be a challenge at the frontier of chemistry. In a previous report, a simple Ag3PO4 semiconductor material was shown to have strong photooxidative properties and efficiently oxidised water and decomposed organics in aqueous solution under visible-light illumination. Herein, its effects on the photo-oxidation of gaseous C2H4 were investigated by fabricating graphitic C3N4-Ag3PO4 composite semiconductors with direct Z-scheme configuration. It was found that both the ethylene photo-oxidative activity and the stability of Ag3PO4 are considerably improved by fabrication of Z-scheme composites. Moreover, stable C2H4 photo-oxidation activity could be obtained by treating the composite at 450 °C for 3 h after long-term operation. From the point of view of environmental pollutant cleanup, the present technique avoids the side reaction of oxidising water and will be valuable for further investigations on both Ag3PO4 and CH degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]