Find in Library

Solar photocatalytic technology based on semiconducting materials has gained the attention of the scientific community to solve the energy crisis and environmental remediation. Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are a subfamily of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with the isomorphic topologies of zeolites and coordinative compositions of MOFs. Owing to high specific surface areas, tunable channels and high thermal stabilities, zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) have been used in catalytic applications. In this paper, ZIF-8 was used as a matrix to synthesize 0D/2D heterojunction photocatalysts, viz., ZnO/C₃N₄-x% (x = 2.5, 5 and 10), for the photocatalytic degradation study of rhodamine B (RhB). The synthesized composite materials were characterized using FTIR, PXRD, UVDRS, PL, TEM, and BET analyses. TEM images showed the nearby contacts between ZnO and C₃N₄ in the hybrid and the uniform distribution of ZnO on the surface of the C₃N₄ nanosheet, thus increasing the development of 0D/2D heterojunction. The hybrid system ZnO/C₃N₄-5% (ZCN-5) showed good photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB under sunlight. A possible mechanism for the improved photocatalytic activity of the ZnO/C₃N₄ composite is also suggested. This exploratory study demonstrates the effective separation and migration of photo-induced electron–hole pairs between the 2D C₃N₄ sheet and 0D ZnO for the improved performance of heterojunction photocatalysts.