Photocatalytic removal of phenol under visible light irradiation on zinc phthalocyanine/mesoporous carbon nitride nanocomposites

A series of zinc phthalocyanine/mesoporous carbon nitride (ZnPc/MCN) nanocomposites was prepared successfully by an impregnation method. The addition of ZnPc (0.05–1.5 wt%) extended the absorption of MCN to longer visible light region without affected its structure. It was found that the photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposites for phenol removal depended on the loading amount of ZnPc. The photocatalytic activity of the MCN increased as the amount of ZnPc increased to 0.05 wt%, but further increase in the loading amount decreased the activity. It was suggested that the optimum amount of ZnPc acted as a good photosensitiser that effectively induced electron charge transfer and reduced the electron-hole recombination.