Synthesis of phytoextract-mediated Ag-doped graphitic carbon nitride (Ag@GCN) for photocatalytic degradation of dyes.

Abstract

The present work focuses on the green synthesis of Ag-doped graphitic carbon nitride (Ag@GCN) for photocatalytic activities, which can contribute to a more sustainable environment. The leaf extract of the Ocimum tenuiflorum (Tulsi) plant was used to prepare the silver nanoparticles, as the plant extract serves as a stabilizing and capping agent in producing silver nanoparticles. Both Ag nanoparticles and urea-derived GCN were synthesized by thermal polymerization. The Ag-doped GCN nanocomposites were synthesized using various millimolar concentrations of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) with a fixed amount of GCN. The green nanocomposites (NCs) were synthesized by calcinating leaf extract at about 550°C. They were then characterized for surface morphology by SEM coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and elemental composition by XRD, Fourier-dispersive infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Thermal stability and estimation of the Ag content in GCN were done through thermogravimetric analysis. The prepared series of nanocomposites (Ag-doped GCN 0.5mM, 1.0mM, 1.5mM, 2.0mM) were used to study the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of rose bengal (RB) and xylenol orange (XO) dyes. The degradation efficiency of dyes gets enhanced due to the doping of Ag nanoparticles into GCN. The efficiency increased from 54 to 76% and 15 to 36% in the case of RB and XO dyes, respectively. The apparent rate constant value increased up to 2.5 times in the case of the Ag-doped GCN (1.5mM) nanocomposite in comparison to GCN. The result obtained from the study confirmed that Ag-doped GCN (1.5mM) could act as a potential photocatalyst for wastewater remediation applications.