ZnO/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> Nanocomposites Embedded Sa-PVA as Photocatalyst Hydrogel Beads for Photodegradation

Abstract

In this research, Fe3O4 NPs and g-C3N4 nanosheets were synthesized by co-precipitation and the thermal decomposition method, respectively. The ZnO/g-C3N4/Fe3O4 nanocomposites (ZGF) with the varying weight sight of Fe3O4 NPs were 0.5 (0.5ZGF), 1.25 (1.25ZGF), 2.5 (2.5ZGF), and 5.0 (5.0ZGF) wt%, which were synthesized by a facile method. Synthesized Fe3O4 NPs, g-C3N4 nanosheets, and ZGF nanocomposite were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Then ZGF nanocomposites were contained on sodium alginate-polyvinyl alcohol (SA-PVA) as hydrogel packing material. Kinetics of photocatalytic activity and adsorption were studied by first-order reaction, second-order reaction, the pseudo-first-order, the pseudo-second-order, Elovich, and Avrami models. Especially, the photocatalytic activity and adsorption process of ZGF-SA-PVA composite hydrogel beads have been represented via Methylene Blue removal. The photodegradation efficiency of 2.5ZGF-SA-PVA composite hydrogel beads under visible light irradiation is increased by over 2 times, to be much higher than that of SA-PVA hydrogel beads. The results show that the organic removal efficiency of the SA-PVA hydrogel bead can be effectively improved by the ZGF nanocomposite.