Abstract
Zirconia (ZrO2)-modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanocomposite was used for effective photodegradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in water. The ZrO2 nanoparticles, g-C3N4 nanosheets, and ZrO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite were well characterized by including N2 adsorption, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoelectrochemical measurements, and photoluminescence spectroscopy methods. ZrO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites were formed at room temperature using sonication and used for effective for photodegradation of 4-NP under irradiation with visible light. The nanocomposite samples resulted in a significant increase in photocatalytic activity compared with single-component samples of g-C3N4. In particular, the ZrO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite exhibited the significant increase in the photocatalytic activity. The ZrO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite showed an excellent catalytic activity toward the reduction of 4-NP in aqueous medium. Further, ZrO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite can be reused several times for photocatalytic degradation as well as for 4-NP adsorption.
Highlights
Extensive global industrial activities have resulted in severe negative impacts on the environment through air and water pollution and generation of large amounts of waste materials
The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of Z rO2/g-C3N4 hybrid samples contain the peaks of both Z rO2 NPs and g-C3N4 nanosheets and show that after synthesis of ZrO2/g-C3N4 composite, the crystal structure of Z rO2 and g-C3N4 did not change
Z rO2/g-C3N4 composites were successfully synthesized via simple ultrasound method
Summary
Extensive global industrial activities have resulted in severe negative impacts on the environment through air and water pollution and generation of large amounts of waste materials. Industrial waste materials consist of both organic and inorganic substances such as pesticide residues, chlorinated and volatile compounds, nitro aromatics, detergents, chemical dyes, and fertilizers. Among the various toxic wastes, dyes and nitro aromatic compounds caused the greatest concern due to their high chemical and biological stability. The US Environmental Protection Agency has declared 4-NP a hazardous pollutant (Atlow et al 1984; Klibanov et al 1983). Removal of 4-NP from polluted water is essential. Traditional water remediation treatments are not effective for the removal of 4-NP due to its stability and solubility in water. Recently, the scientific community has given focused on inventing efficient catalysts for the degradation of 4-NP (Chang et al 2012; Pradhan et al 2002)
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