Strongly coupled polyoxometalates/oxygen doped g-C3N4 nanocomposites as Fenton-like catalysts for efficient photodegradation of sulfosalicylic acid

Abstract Fe-containing polyoxometalate clusters were coupled with carbon nitride to construct heterogeneous Fenton-like photocatalysts. Oxygen doping of carbon nitride was beneficial for the formation of strongly coupled interfaces, which not only contributed to the surface activation of oxygen molecules, but also facilitated the charge transfer from carbon nitride to polyoxometalate clusters. Due to the enhanced ability for generating peroxide radicals and the increased reactive sites for Fenton-like reactions, strongly coupled composites presented 6 times higher activity for the degradation of sulfosalicylic acid, compared to pristine carbon nitride. Our work offers an avenue to construct polyoxometalates/carbon nitride composite catalysts for synergistic contaminant removal.