Abstract
Photocatalysis has shown high potential in dealing with the ever-broadening problem of wastewater treatment, escalated by the increasing level of recalcitrant chemicals often referred to as emerging contaminants. In this study, the effect of support material on the photocatalytic activity of copper tin sulfide (Cu3SnS4) nanoparticles for the degradation of tetracycline as an emerging contaminant is presented. Graphene oxide, protonated graphitic carbon nitride, and a composite of graphitic carbon nitride and graphene oxide were explored as support materials for Cu3SnS4 nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were incorporated with the different carbonaceous substrates to afford graphene-supported Cu3SnS4 (GO-CTS), protonated graphitic carbon nitride-supported Cu3SnS4 (PCN-CTS), and graphene oxide/protonated graphitic carbon nitride-supported Cu3SnS4 (GO/PCN-CTS). Physicochemical, structural, and optical properties of the prepared nanocomposites were characterized using techniques such as Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis near infrared, and fluorescence spectrophotometry. The compositing of the Cu3SnS4 nanoparticles on the support materials was confirmed by the characterization techniques, and the optical properties of the composites were found to be influenced by the nature of the support material. The incorporation of CTS into the support materials resulted in a reduction in band gap energy with evaluated band gaps of 1.65, 1.46, 1.43 eV, and 1.16 eV. The reduction in band gap energy suggests the potential of the composites for enhanced photocatalytic activity. From the photocatalytic study, the degradation efficiency of tetracycline by CTS, PCN-CTS, GO-CTS, and PC/GO-CTS was 74.1, 85.2, 90.9, and 96.5%, respectively. All the composites showed enhanced activity compared to pristine CTS, and the existence of a synergy between GO and PCN when both were employed as support materials was observed. Based on the charge carrier recombination characteristics and the band edge potential calculations from the composites, a possible mechanism of action of each composite was proposed. This study therefore confirms the possibility of modulating the mechanism of action and subsequently the efficiency of semiconductor materials by altering the nature of the support material.
Highlights
Supporting a catalyst on a suitable material is an important route to the improvement of properties such as adsorption capacity, stability, dispensability, quantum efficiency, electronic band structure, and overall reaction kinetics [1]
In this study, we explored graphene oxide, protonated g-C3 N4, and a composite of both materials as support materials for ternary copper tin sulfide (Cu3 SnS4 ), Catalysts 2022, 12, 14 and their influence on catalytic activity has been explored in the degradation of tetracycline as a model pollutant of emerging concern
The morphological, structural, and optical properties of these composites were explored in explaining the factors contributing to the photocatalytic activity of these materials
Summary
Supporting a catalyst on a suitable material is an important route to the improvement of properties such as adsorption capacity, stability, dispensability, quantum efficiency, electronic band structure, and overall reaction kinetics [1]. Graphene is a two-dimensional material with a single-layer network of sp hybridized carbon atoms arranged in a densely packed honeycomb shape [5] It possesses unique characteristics such as high adsorption capacity, high mechanical strength, ease of functionalization, large surface area, and excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, which makes it an ideal support material for catalysts [6,7,8]. The most-explored functionalization route is the oxidation of graphene to form graphene oxide, which comprises randomly distributed sp and sp carbon atoms carrying carboxyl, carbonyl, hydroxyl, and epoxy functional groups [21] These oxygen moieties confer improved hydrophilic properties and chemical reactivity on GO and provide anchor sites for the immobilization of different catalytic active species [22]
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