Ball-milling combined calcination synthesis of In2O3/C3N4 for high photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation

Abstract

In2O3/C3N4 composites were prepared with In(OH)3 and C3N4 by ball-milling calcination. The samples were characterized by TG, XRD, TEM, XPS, FT-IR, DRS, EIS, Photocurrent and Photoluminescence measurements. Photocatalytic performance of the catalyst was measured by the degradation test of methyl orange (MO). The photocatalytic performance of In2O3/C3N4 composites is higher than that of In2O3 and C3N4. The photocurrent response to In2O3/C3 N4 (17.3%) was 11.3 times and 183.1 times as high as that of pure In2O3 and C3N4, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity was attributed to the high separation and migration efficiency of photoinduced electrons and holes. Superoxide anion (·O2−) and hole (h+) played important roles in the methyl orange (MO) degradation.