The cooperation of photothermal conversion, photocatalysis and sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation process on few-layered graphite modified graphitic carbon nitride

Sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation process is a promising technology to degrade organic pollutants for water remediation. Photo-activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) has received increasing attention. From the aspect of solar energy, the utilization of near-infrared (NIR) light which accounts for about 50% of the solar energy in PMS activation is still challenging. Herein, we designed and synthesized few-layered graphite modified graphitic carbon nitride (GrCN) for whole-spectrum photo-activation of PMS. During the reaction, NIR light was converted to heat on few-layered graphite through photothermal effect to accelerate the chemical reactions via raising the system temperature. In addition to the photothermal effect, few-layered graphite also acted as cocatalyst to alter the band structure and promote the charge separation. Therefore, GrCN exhibited excellent activity in the degradation of bisphenol A with the addition of PMS under illumination. In addition, GrCN presented high reusability in the presence of sulfate radicals under illumination.