A self-cleaning surface based on heat treatment of g-C3N4-coated wood prepared by a rapid and eco-friendly method

Abstract

Abstract A self-cleaning surface treatment has been developed, which is prepared by an eco-friendly and effective two-step method. First, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was deposited on the wood surface by vacuum impregnation, followed by heat treatment. The morphology, weight change, dimensional stability, crystal and micro structure, and elemental composition of the wood samples were determined by photography, weighting, swelling rate determination, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDXA). Moreover, contact angle measurements and photocatalytic degradation experiments were carried out with Rhodamine B as the target. It was demonstrated that g-C3N4 is successfully deposited on the wood surface, which lowers the heat treatment temperature and renders photocatalytic properties to the coating. The heat treatment at around 210°C strengthened the immobility of g-C3N4 and increased the surface hydrophobicity. Moreover, the better photocatalytic ability of the surface is accompanied with self-cleaning effects.