Synthesis and photocatalytic properties of biomimetic morphology silicon carbide

Silicon carbide materials with bionic morphology are prepared by impregnation-calcination method using the template of leaf vein. The microstructure, element composition, and band gap of biomimetic morphology silicon carbide are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible light spectrum (UV-vis) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Photocatalytic property of biomimetic morphology silicon carbide has been measured by the dye decolorization reaction. The results demonstrate that calcination temperature has the important effect on the formation of silicon carbide. The morphology of silicon carbide can keep the original biomimetic shape of leaf vein template, and there is meosporous structure with a diameter of 2-4 nm on the interior of material. The average gain size of materials is about 16.9 nm and the specific surface area of materials is about 84.7 m(2) g(-1). After calculation, the band gap of material is 3.02 eV. For performance testing, the degradation rate of silicon carbide is 92.86% for the first time, and after the fourth repetition, the degradation rate decreased to 86.74%.