Remarkable Pyro-Catalysis of g-C3N4 Nanosheets for Dye Decoloration under Room-Temperature Cold–Hot Cycle Excitation

Abstract

Pyroelectric materials have the ability to convert the environmental cold–hot thermal energy such as day–night temperature alternation into electrical energy. The novel pyro-catalysis technology can be designed and realized on the basis of the product coupling between pyroelectric and electrochemical redox effects, which is helpful for the actual dye decomposition. The organic two-dimensional (2D) graphic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), as an analogue of graphite, has attracted considerable interest in the field of material science; however, its pyroelectric effect has rarely been reported. In this work, the remarkable pyro-catalytic performance was achieved in the 2D organic g-C3N4 nanosheet catalyst materials under the continuous room-temperature cold–hot thermal cycling excitation from 25 °C to 60 °C. The pyro-catalytic RhB dye decoloration efficiency of the 2D organic g-C3N4 can reach ~92.6%. Active species such as the superoxide radicals and hydroxyl radicals are observed as the intermediate products in the pyro-catalysis process of the 2D organic g-C3N4 nanosheets. The pyro-catalysis of the 2D organic g-C3N4 nanosheets provides efficient technology for wastewater treatment applications, utilizing the ambient cold–hot alternation temperature variations in future.