A β-cyclodextrin modified graphitic carbon nitride with au co-catalyst for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production

Photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production has attracted considerable attention as a renewable and environment-friendly method to replace other traditional production techniques. The performance of H₂O₂ production remains limited by the inertness of graphitic carbon nitride (CN) towards the adsorption and activation of O₂. In this work, a photocatalyst comprising of β-cyclodextrin (ß-CD)-modified CN with supporting Au co-catalyst (Au/β-CD-CN) has been utilized for effective H₂O₂ production under visible light irradiation. The static contact angle measurement suggested that β-CD modification increased the hydrophobicity of the CN photocatalyst as well as its affinity to oxygen gas, leading to an increase in H₂O₂ production. The rate of H₂O₂ production reached more than 0.1 mM/h under visible-light irradiation. The electron spin resonance spectra indicated that H₂O₂ was directly formed via a 2-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) over the Au/β-CD-CN photocatalyst.