Combination of Au-Ag Plasmonic Nanoparticles of Varied Compositions with Carbon Nitride for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Ibuprofen under Visible Light

Abstract

Au-Ag/g-C3N4 nanohybrids 2–3 were synthesized by the one-pot self-reduction of the organometallic precursor [Au2Ag2(C6F5)4(OEt2)2]n in the presence of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), leading to two populations of alloyed Au-Ag nanoparticles (NPs) of different size and composition on the surface of g-C3N4, i.e., Ag-enriched Au-Ag NPs of smaller size and Au-enriched Au-Ag NPs of larger size. The combination of these two types of plasmonic NPs with g-C3N4 semiconductor displays enhanced photocatalytic properties towards the degradation of ibuprofen under visible light by the increased charge carrier separation provided by the inclusion of the plasmonic NPs on g-C3N4.

Keywords

• gold
• silver
• carbon nitride
• nanostructures
• ibuprofen
• photocatalysis