Silver Nanoparticles Modified Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheets as a Significant Bifunctional Material for Practical Applications

Abstract

Abstract Amine‐functionalized graphitic carbon nitride (NH 2 /GCN) nanosheets photoluminescence, catalytic properties and excellent water dispersion stability were prepared and characterized by a variety of different analytical and spectroscopic techniques. The well‐dispersed NH 2 /GCN nanosheets were found to exhibit remarkable pH sensing sensitivity at an ambient temperature with desirable broad detection range (1 ≤ pH ≤ 12). Moreover, upon incorporating silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), the Ag‐NH 2 /GCN nanocomposites showed excellent performances for catalytic reduction of 4‐nitrophenol (4‐NP) in NaBH 4 with a superior rate constant ( k ) of 0.1594 s ‐1 within as short as 30 s. The NH 2 /GCN and Ag‐NH 2 /GCN nanocomposites reported herein therefore render prospective applications as sensitive pH and practical catalytic applications.