Abstract
In this study, we report the fabrication of graphitic carbon nitride doped zinc oxide nanocomposites, g-C3N4/ZnO, (Zn-Us) by using different amount of urea. They were further characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman, UV-vis, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The prepared nanocomposites were used as photocatalysts for the mineralization of the light sensitive dyes Methylene Blue (MB) and Rose Bengal (RB) under UV light irradiation, and corresponding photo-mechanism was proposed. Benefiting from these photocatalytic characteristics, urea derived g-C3N4/ZnO photocatalysts have been found to have excellent photodegradation activity against the MB and RB for 6 h and 4 h, respectively. Under the given experimental conditions, the degradation percentage of fabricated Zn-Us were shown ~90% for both model dyes. Compared to cationic MB dye, anionic RB dye is more actively degraded on the surface of prepared photocatalysts. The results obtained can be effectively used for future practical applications in wastewater treatment
Highlights
Environmental and water pollution has become a great matter of concern with rapid industrialization, as pollutants are disposed into water bodies, having harmful effects on the environment
The present study reveals the mechanism for photocatalytic photocatalytic activity for the dissociation of Methylene Blue (MB) and Rose Bengal (RB) dyes
The crystallinity of the powder samples was analyzed via X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and the results are depicted in and the (002) diffraction planes conforming to the JCPDS No 87-1526 of the graphitic carbon nitride and the (002) diffraction planes conforming to the JCPDS No 87-1526 of the graphitic carbon nitride resemble the interplanar graphitic stacking plane of g-C3 N4 [29]
Summary
Environmental and water pollution has become a great matter of concern with rapid industrialization, as pollutants are disposed into water bodies, having harmful effects on the environment. The advanced oxidation process (AOP) has exposed superficial effectiveness in the direction of industrial wastewater treatment, textile waste comprising synthetic dyes [6,7] Such methods are embraced with various techniques such as photo-catalytic processes applied to vitiate organic pollutants and toxic chemicals prevailing in water bodies [8]. Wang and co-workers [28] reported the electrochemical synthesis of g-C3 N4 /ZnO nanotube and showed their enhanced photo electrochemical properties All these reports reveal that a composite of ZnO and g-C3 N4 gives an excellent photocatalytic activity under the illumination of solar light. Obtained results are compared with P25 and previously reported work
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