The synergy of N-doped and SPR-promoted photocatalytic removal of NO with graphene/Bi nanocomposites

Nitrogen-doped graphene/bismuth (NG/Bi) nanocomposites with different graphene contents were successfully assembled using a one-pot method. Detailed characterization of the as-synthesized samples, including powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence spectra (PL) and photoelectrochemical measurements was conducted. The results showed that nitrogen elements were introduced into the skeleton of graphene and Bi nanoparticles were irregularly distributed on the N-doped graphene nanosheets. The NG/Bi composites performed better photocatalytic NO removal activity than their counterparts under UV light illumination. The removal ratio of NO over 2%-NG/Bi was 49.5%, and the recycling activity after 5 runs was not significantly weakened. The enhanced photocatalytic performance was due to the synergistic effect of N-graphene, which not only elevated the absorption of light, but also accelerated the transfer of hot electrons generated by the SPR effect of Bi.