Exfoliated gC3N4 supported CdS nanorods as a S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst for the degradation of various textile dyes

Abstract

• CdS nanorods anchored on exfoliated gC 3 N 4 . • CdS-gC 3 N 4 catalyst degraded various commonly used dyes in textile industries. • CdS-gC 3 N 4 acts as a S-scheme catalyst to degrade the dyes. • The catalyst manifested excellent catalytic efficiency and reusability. The quest to develop efficient photocatalysts in order to maintain a harmonious ecosystem by reducing water pollution from wastewater discharged from various industries is still in progress. Herein, we report a photocatalyst synthesized from exfoliated graphitic carbon nitride (gC 3 N 4 (ex)) and cadmium sulfide (CdS) which manifested excellent catalytic activity towards the degradation of various textile dyes in the presence of H 2 O 2 (50CdS-50gC 3 N 4 (ex)). Under optimum reaction conditions, ∼100 % degradation of some textile dyes such as Turq CL 5B, Red CL 5B, Yell CL 2R, Navy CLR, CB Sol Navy R, and Lanasol Black CE were observed in 10, 15, 30, 25, 30, and 15 min, respectively, when 50CdS-50gC 3 N 4 (ex) was used as the photocatalyst. This excellent photocatalytic efficiency of 50CdS-50gC 3 N 4 (ex) ascends from the establishment of synergy between nanorod-shaped CdS and exfoliated tubular-shaped gC 3 N 4 due to their intimate concomitance in the nanocomposite. Moreover, the catalyst showed ∼93 % catalytic efficiency as well as no change in the crystal structure or morphology after five catalytic cycles. Hence, this work puts forward a highly efficient environment-friendly, and reusable catalyst (50CdS-50gC 3 N 4 (ex)) which demonstrated its excellent potentiality to be utilized in the treatment of polluted effluents from textile industries under solar or blue LED irradiation.