Issue 5, 2017

Two-dimensional confined electron donor–acceptor co-intercalated inorganic/organic nanocomposites: an effective photocatalyst for dye degradation

Abstract

Photocatalysis is a green catalytic process by utilizing inexhaustible solar light to realize the chemical reaction. Traditionally, most photocatalysts are inorganic semiconductor oxides. Herein, the organic anions, copper phthalocyanine-3,4′,4′′,4′′′-tetrasulfonate (CuPcTS) and 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylate (PTCB) were selected as guests and co-intercalated into the layered double hydroxides (LDHs) (CuPcTS–PTCB (x%)/LDHs, x was the percentage ratio of PTCB), to obtain the two-dimensional (2D) confined co-intercalated inorganic/organic nanocomposites. The HOMO/LUMO energy levels of the co-intercalated CuPcTS/PTCB anions were matched and coupled as the electron donor and acceptor for the photo-induced electron transfer (PET) process under solar irradiation. The co-intercalated CuPcTS/PTCB anions with similar shape and size were confined and distributed homogenously into the 2D interlayers, which was beneficial for the 2D PET process. The co-intercalated nanocomposites exhibited broad optical absorption in the visible light region, which was in favor of the effective utilization of solar energy for photocatalysis. The equal proportion co-intercalated composite (x = 49.5) with excellent crystallinity and photostability exhibited the best photocatalytic efficiency for oxidation degradation of organic dyes, compared with other proportions and the commercial P25 photocatalyst. Furthermore, the CuPcTS–PTCB (x%)/LDHs exhibited a preferentially faster photodegradation rate for anionic dyes than cationic ones due to the hydrophilic positively-charged LDHs surfaces. In short, this novel 2D confined electron donor/acceptor co-intercalated nanocomposite was a kind of competitive photocatalyst for the degradation of organic contaminants and aromatic toxicants, showing potential applications in environmental protection and pollutant treatment.

Graphical abstract: Two-dimensional confined electron donor–acceptor co-intercalated inorganic/organic nanocomposites: an effective photocatalyst for dye degradation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Oct 2016
Accepted
08 Dec 2016
First published
12 Jan 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 2789-2795

Two-dimensional confined electron donor–acceptor co-intercalated inorganic/organic nanocomposites: an effective photocatalyst for dye degradation

S. Zheng, J. Lu, J. Shi and X. Duan, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 2789 DOI: 10.1039/C6RA25534E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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