Nickel Doped Carbon Nitride for the Photoelectrochemical Degradation of a Sunscreen derived Organic Pollutant Found in Swimming Pool Waters

Abstract

The fabrication and consumption of sun care products has increased exponentially the concentration of organic UV filters in the oceans and seas, which represents a threat to the marine environment The present research project aims to explore the viability of using nickel doped carbon nitride (Ni CN) as a photoelectrocatalytic material to degrade 4 aminobenzoic acid ( one of the most used organic UV filters, today For this purpose, several electrodes has been prepared by drop casting employing Ni CN catalysts (possessing different Ni contents), and different substrates including unmodified fluorine doped tin oxide ( coated glass, and FTO coated glass with a metallic thin films of Zn, Mn or Ni on it surface Preliminary results indicate that a ll the fabricated electrodes exhibited higher current densities under irradiation of visible light, corroborating the photo responsive nature of these CN based materials The catalyst prepared using the highest amount of Ni precursor salt 8 X material) exhibited the highest current density during the linear sweep voltammetry experiments In contrast, the electrode prepared using the 0 X material (CN without Ni) exhibited the lowest current density, indicating that the amount Ni contained in the CN has a significant effect on the photoelectrocatalytic properties of the fabricated electrodes Photoelectrochemical degradation experiments revealed PABA degradations about 50 when using some of fabricated the electrodes