Construction of ultra-thin 2D CN-Br0.12/2%RhOx photo-catalyst with rapid electron and hole separation for efficient bisphenol A degradation

Abstract g-C3N4 (CN), which shows enormous potential for photocatalysis, has long been studied, but still exhibits an unsatisfactory degradation rate. Herein, dual cocatalysts, Br and ultrafine RhOx nanoparticles, were constructed on ultrathin CN for synergetic photocatalysis. Ultrathin CN increased the exciton separation efficiency, while cocatalysts Br and RhOx can accelerated electron and hole transfer simultaneously, maximizing the photocatalytic degradation performance of CN. This CN-Br0.12/2%RhOx degraded 10 ppm bisphenol A (BPA) in 9 min, which represents the fastest degradation rate reported to date. This excellent performance was also demonstrated by a larger photocurrent response, higher separation efficiency, and faster transfer rate for electron–hole pairs than CN. This work obtained an enhanced electron–hole separation efficiency and migration rate by combing ultrathin CN with dual-channel cocatalysts, leading to the best photocatalytic degradation performance reported for CN.