LaMnO3 nanoparticles supported on N doped porous carbon as efficient photocatalyst

Abstract A new type of photocatalyst by the dispersion of LaMnO 3 nanoparticles on N doped porous biocarbon using a simple sol-gel method without adding any nitrogen source (such as NH 3 , NH4OH, N 2 H 4 ). Biochar is obtained from soybean dregs through two methods of hydrolysis and pyrolysis. The results show that the biocar obtained by two-step pyrolysis method is a better choice. The samples are characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis (BET) and UV-vis diffuse spectroscopy. It clearly demonstrates that composite exhibit an excellent photocatalytic activity in the degradation of Direct Green BE under UV-vis light because of its larger specific surface area, more active sites, improved charge separation efficiency and enhanced visible harvest ability. Furthermore, three typical N-bonding configurations in porous carbon is efficient for the enhanced photocatalytic activity, the h + and •O 2 − play main roles in the photocatalytic system.