Photocatalytic removal of phenol under visible light irradiation on zinc phthhalocyanine/mesoporous carbon nitride

In the present study, the potential activity of ZnPc/m-C₃N₄ nanocomposites for photocatalytic removal of phenol under visible light irradiation was revealed. It was confirmed that m-C₃N₄ showed adsorption-desorption characteristic of mesoporous material with pore size of 3.3 nm and specific surface area of 41 m² g^-1. A series of ZnPc/m-C₃N₄ nanocomposites was synthesized by impregnation method. From X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, the addition of small amount of ZnPc did not affect the structure of m-C₃N₄. Besides diffraction peaks of C₃N₄ at 2θ of 13.0° and 27.6°, an additional small diffraction peak of ZnPc was detected at 2θ of 6.95° for ZnPc/m-C₃N₄. The successful impregnation of ZnPc onto the m-C₃N₄ was also proved from the diffuse reflectance UV-Visible spectroscopy, which an absorption peak was detected at 696-700 nm due to Q-band, corresponding to π-π* transitions.