Enhancing the Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue with Graphene Oxide-Encapsulated g-C₃N₄/ZnO Ternary Composites

Abstract

Methylene blue (MB) is a toxic contaminant present in wastewater. Here, we prepared various composites of graphene oxide (GO) with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) and zinc oxide (ZnO) for the degradation of MB. In comparison to ZnO (22.9%) and g-C 3 N 4 /ZnO (76.0%), the ternary composites of GO/g-C 3 N 4 / ZnO showed 90% photocatalytic degradation of MB under a light source after 60 min. The experimental setup and parameters were varied to examine the process and effectiveness of MB degradation. Based on the results of the experiments, a proposed photocatalytic degradation process that explains the roles of GO, ZnO, and g-C 3 N 4 in improving the photocatalytic efficacy of newly prepared GO/g-C 3 N 4 /ZnO was explored. Notably, the g-C 3 N 4 /ZnO nanocomposite's surface was uniformly covered with ZnO nanorods. The images of the samples clearly demonstrated the porous nature of GO/g-C 3 N 4 /ZnO photocatalysts, and even after being mixed with GO, the g-C 3 N 4 /ZnO composite retained the layered structure of the original material. The catalyst's porous structure plausibly enhanced the degradation of the contaminants. The high-clarity production of g-C 3 N 4 and the effectiveness of the synthesis protocol were later validated by the absence of any trace contamination in the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) results. The composition of the ZnO elements and their spectra were revealed by the EDS results of the prepared ZnO nanorods, g-C 3 N 4 /ZnO, and GO/g-C 3 N 4/ ZnO. The outcomes indicated that the nanocomposites were highly uncontaminated and contained all necessary elements to facilitate the transformative process. The results of this experiment could be applied at a large scale, thus proving the effectiveness of photocatalysts for the removal of dyes.

Combinatorial Photoactivity Enhancement of Ternary Nanohybrids: Ag Cocatalyst-Dispersed Monoclinic Bi2O3/g-C3N4 through the Synergistic Action of Induced Oxygen Defect and Porosity for Abatement of Fluoroquinolones and Boosted Antimicrobial Activity

“…To counteract the negative effects of pristine g-C 3 N 4 , many tactics have been proposed, like regulating the polymeric g-C 3 N 4 to tune the band gaps, construction of a heterojunction by coupling with other semiconductors, doping it with metals and nonmetals, tuning the morphology, and engineering defects in the bulk g-C 3 N 4 . The development of heterojunctions using a simple synthetic scheme was recently reported by Wang et al and Shakoor et al As per their study, g-C 3 N 4 -based heterojunctions exhibited a significant rise in the rate of photodegradation of ciprofloxacin antibiotic as compared with their single components. In the recent work reported by Zhong et al, C-defects were introduced into the α-Fe 2 O 3 /g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction that accounts for the effective degradation of Microcystin-LR in aquatic environments using hydrothermal treatment and calcination .…”