Diatomite-anchored g-C3N4 nanosheets for selective removal of organic dyes

Abstract Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has gained a growing number of attention due to its stable physicochemical properties and simple preparation process. In this work, microdisk-like g-C3N4/diatomite (CNDE) composites were prepared via a facile calcination process. CNDE2.0 displays better adsorption/photocatalytic activity for the removal of MB in comparison with pure g-C3N4 and diatomite. Furthermore, CNDE2.0 exhibits excellent selective adsorption performance for the removal of MB from the MB/MO or MB/RhB mixed dyes. Self-aggregation of g-C3N4 was effectively suppressed by using diatomite as a carrier and further boosted the adsorption performance of MB over CNDE2.0. Multi-interface generated from diatomite and g-C3N4 that accelerated electron migration and improved the utilization of photogenerated electron, which takes great responsibility for the enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of MB. This work focuses on the selective removal of organic dyes and its result provides an exciting reference value for the specific separation process.