Fe atom clusters embedded N-doped graphene decorated with ultrathin mesoporous carbon nitride nanosheets for highly efficient photocatalytic performance

Abstract Atomic-level dispersed non-noble metal co-catalyst offers high potential for improving photocatalytic performance. Herein, Fe atom clusters embedded N-doped graphene (Fe-NG) stacked ultrathin mesoporous carbon nitride nanosheets (MCNS) by layer and layer that have been successfully constructed. The Fe-NG as co-catalyst can promote the effective migration of photogenerated electrons on the surface of MCNS nanosheets, thus effectively separate photogenerated carriers. Moreover, the metal atom clusters sites can absorb more reactants, which is conducive to the promotion of photocatalytic reaction. The photocatalytic activity of these composites was tested under visible light irradiation with the indissoluble antibiotics, endocrine disruptors and dyes as the target pollutants. When the mass ratios of Fe are about 0.15 wt%, the Fe-NG/MCN exhibited the optimum photocatalytic performance. The intermediates of various pollutants produced during the photodegradation reaction and corresponding possible degradation pathway were in-depth analyzed with mass spectrometry spectra. The ESR analysis indicated that the •O2− and •OH were the main active species for the photocatalytic degradation. A possible mechanism of Fe-NG for the enhancement of visible light performance was proposed. Meanwhile, the Fe-NG/MCNS composite shows promising application for the photo-oxidative degradation of environmental contaminants.