Speakers

Biography

Chung-Shin Lu received a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, in 1994. He is currently a Professor at the National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan. His interests are focused on the analysis and treatment of environmental pollutants. His laboratory is currently working on the synthesis of various photocatalysts and investigating their photocatalytic abilities for CO₂ reduction and removing organic pollutants.

Abstract

In this study, we have successfully synthesized ZnGa1.01Te2.13/g-C₃N₄ (ZGT/GCN) composites for the first time as effective photocatalysts for both pollutant degradation and CO₂ reduction. The synthesis of the ZGT/GCN composites was carried out via a simple hydrothermal method, followed by elaborate characterization of the materials. The ZGT/GCN heterojunction exhibited considerably enhanced photocatalytic activity in the degradation of crystal violet (CV) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) as well as in photoreduction of CO₂ when compared to pure ZGT and GCN semiconductors. The optimal rate constant for CV degradation was obtained with the ZGT-80%GCN composite (0.0442 h^-1), which is higher than the constants obtained with individual ZGT and GCN by 7.75 and 1.63 times, respectively. Moreover, the CO₂ reduction yields into CH4 by ZGT-80%GCN was 1.013 mol/g in 72 h, which is 1.21 times larger than the yield obtained with ZGT (0.834 mol/g). Scavenger and ESR tests were used to propose the photocatalytic mechanism of the ZGT/GCN composite as well as the active species in the CV degradation. Overall the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the ZGT/GCN composite in CO₂ reduction and photodegradation processes owing to their stability, efficient photocatalytic performance, and recyclability.