Synthesis of visible-light-driven heterojunction graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4/Feo/TiP) material: An efficient photocatalytic agent for degradation of rhodamine 6G from wastewater

Abstract

In this study, a novel and cost-effective photocatalytic material based on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) heterojunctions incorporating zero-valent iron (Feo) and titanium phosphate (TiP) was successfully synthesized via chemical reduction method. Various characterization techniques including UV–visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Energy Dispersive Spectrum were employed to analyze the ternary photocatalyst g-C3N4/Feo/TiP. The study focused on investigating the degradation mechanism of Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation using synthesized g-C3N4/Feo/TiP heterojunction material. Remarkably, optimal photocatalytic activity was achieved at pH 3, wherein 98 % degradation of 50 mL of Rh6G (10 ppm) was attained within 60 min under visible light irradiation. This activity was consistent across a wide pH range from 3 to 11. This happens due to the exceptional enhancement of hydroxyl radicals, higher photocurrent response and photo-excited holes via Z-scheme of heterojucntion mechanism from g-C3N4/Feo/TiP material compared to g-C3N4 (60 %), TiP (75 %), and Feo/TiP (85 %) against Rh6G. The extraordinary degradation arises due to more visible light absorption capability and enhanced separation of photo-excited electrons and holes through Z-scheme heterojucntion mechanism. This report show the promising clean environmental application prospect of synthesized heterojucntion photocatalyst against organic pollutants from wastewater.