Decoration of Monodisperse Silver Vanadate on Biomass‐Derived Porous Carbon: A Dual‐Purpose Catalyst for Detection of p‐Nitrophenol and Photodegradation of Rhodamine B

Abstract

Taking advantage of carbonaceous composite materials in electrocatalysis or photocatalysis is a promising pathway for transforming biomass resources into sustainable energy‐conversion systems. Herein, a carbonaceous composite catalyst based on the monodispersed silver vanadate nanoparticles (Ag3VO4 NPs) modification of biomass‐derived porous carbon (named as AVO/PC) is proposed for ultrasensitive and electrochemical rapid detection of p‐nitrophenol (p‐NP) under acidic condition. The radish‐derived three‐dimensional porous carbonaceous aerogels as supporter subtly introduced in the carbonization process of alkaline activation remarkably promote the physicochemical properties of the biomass‐derived porous carbon (PC), which can provide a favorable internal surface to load Ag3VO4 NPs. Subsequently, this electrochemical behavior of AVO/PC‐modified glassy carbon electrode (AVO/PC/GCE) exhibits high sensitivity (4.95 mA mM−1 cm−2) and a varied linear detection range (1 μmol L−1 ≈ 1 mmol L−1), as well as reproducibility and stability for p‐NP. Besides, the as‐prepared AVO/PC demonstrates the enhanced photocatalytic degradation performance of rhodamine B (RhB), and the photocatalytic rate reaches to 94% in visible light irradiation. The findings should be useful for designing and constructing dual‐purpose carbonaceous composite materials with potential applications in environmental monitoring and contaminant treatment.

Keywords

• biomass carbonaceous materials
• electrochemical detection
• KOH activation
• photodegradation