Surface plasmon resonance-induced photocatalysis by Au nanoparticles decorated mesoporous g-C3N4 nanosheets under direct sunlight irradiation

•The Au/mp-g-C3N4 was synthesized via a template-free and green in situ strategy.•Au/mp-g-C3N4 nanosheets possesses high surface area and porous structure.•Au/mp-g-C3N4 showed dramatic photocurrent response and photocatalytic activity.•The high performance is due to SPR of Au and mesoporous structure.•Au/mp-g-C3N4 nanosheets exhibited high photostability.

In recent years, surface plasmon-induced photocatalytic materials with tunable mesoporous framework have attracted considerable attention in energy conversion and environmental remediation. Herein we report a novel Au nanoparticles decorated mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (Au/mp-g-C3N4) nanosheets via a template-free and green in situ photo-reduction method. The synthesized Au/mp-g-C3N4 nanosheets exhibit a strong absorption edge in visible and near-IR region owing to the surface plasmon resonance effect of Au nanoparticles. More attractively, Au/mp-g-C3N4 exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity than that of pure mesoporous and bulk g-C3N4 for the degradation of rhodamine B under sunlight irradiation. Furthermore, the photocurrent and photoluminescence studies demonstrated that the deposition of Au nanoparticles on the surface of mesoporous g-C3N4 could effectively inhibit the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers leading to the enhanced photocatalytic activity. More importantly, the synthesized Au/mp-g-C3N4 nanosheets possess high reusability. Hence, Au/mp-g-C3N4 could be promising photoactive material for energy and environmental applications.

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