Exceptional photocatalytic activity for g-C3N4 activated by H2O2 and integrated with Bi2S3 and Fe3O4 nanoparticles for removal of organic and inorganic pollutants

Abstract

Herein, hydrogen peroxide activated graphitic carbon nitride (agCN) was combined with Fe3O4 and Bi2S3 to fabricate agCN/Fe3O4/Bi2S3 nanocomposites via facile refluxing method, as visible-light-induced photocatalysts for photodegradations of anionic and cationic dyes such as MO, RhB, MB, and photoreduction of Cr(VI). The fabricated samples were explored by XRD, EDX, XPS, TGA, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, VSM, PL, FT-IR, BET, and UV-vis DRS. Photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite with 20% of Bi2S3 was 16.6, 40.4, 19.5, and 12.5 times more than that of the pristine gCN in removal of RhB, MB, MO, and Cr(VI), respectively. A plausible photocatalytic mechanism on the agCN/Fe3O4/Bi2S3 nanocomposites was proposed by construction of n-n heterojunction between gCN and Bi2S3. Also, stability of the magnetic hybrid was characterized through cyclic photocatalytic tests.