Fabrication of 1D/2D p-g-C3N4@RGO heterostructures with superior visible-light photoelectrochemical cathodic protection performance

A novel photoelectrode system based on one-dimensional g-C3N4 porous nanofibers (1D-p-g-C3N4) heterostructured with 2D-RGO was fabricated by hydrogen bonding self-assembly technology in combination with heat treatment and electrodeposition process. Ascribed to the one-dimensional porous morphology of g-C3N4 and its heterojunction with RGO, the separation efficiency of the photoinduced electrons and holes was dramatically enhanced, leading to its superior PEC cathodic protection performance for 304 stainless steel. Under visible light illumination, the 1D/2D p-g-C3N4@RGO photoelectrode exhibited a photoinduced current density of 10.1 μA cm−2 and a photoinduced polarized potential of − 480 mV, which is 6 and 2.5 times that of g-C3N4, respectively.