Electrostatic self-assembled PTh/Ag/protonated g-C3N4 nanocomposite with remarkable photocatalytic degradation for organic pollutants

A novel ternary polythiophene/Ag/protonated g-C3N4 nanosheets (PTh/Ag/pCN) nanocomposite was constructed by electrostatic self-assembly strategy. The as-prepared 5% PTh/Ag/pCN exhibits excellent visible light photocatalytic performance toward methylene orange (MO), which is 6 and 3.7 times higher than pCN and PTh, respectively. The result was dominantly ascribed to the forming of Z-scheme heterojunction due to the synergetic effects of pCN, Ag and PTh, which is conductive to the separation of photogenerated charges. Meanwhile, the radical trapping experiments and ESR techniques proved that the photogenerated holes and superoxide radicals are vital reactive substances. This study provides a powerful approach to enhance catalytic activity of conjugated polymer photocatalyst.