Co 3 O 4 modified polymeric carbon nitride for external light-free chlorine activating degradation of organic pollutants

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) activated by chlorine have emerged as a green and efficient strategy for water treatment and have attracted widespread attention. However, most of them require continuous UV radiation during the degradation reaction, which increases the cost and is not conducive to practical application, in some ways. Hererin we proposed an external light-free chlorine activation methodology for the removal of organic pollutants with the assistance of the intrinsic chemiluminescence (CL) in the system. A very interesting phenomenon, 20-fold enhanced CL of Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles modified polymeric carbon nitride (PCN/Co 3 O 4 ) was observed in the presence of hypochlorous acid (HClO), compared with the pristine PCN nanosheets. Without ultraviolet (UV), even any other light-emitting devices, the strong intrinsic CL in the PCN/Co 3 O 4 -HClO system was found to be conducive to chlorine activation degradation of organic pollutants. The inner connection between the CL of the PCN/Co 3 O 4 -HClO system and the chlorine-based AOPs was further explored.