Microwave‐assisted synthesis of the Fe₂O₃/g‐C₃N₄ nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic activity for degradation of methylene blue

Abstract

The preparation and photocatalytic performance of the Fe 2 O 3 /g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposites with different weight percentage of iron was investigated in this study. Samples were successfully synthesized using melamine and ferric nitrate as the precursors via the green and facile microwave-assisted method. The physicochemical and structural properties of the Fe 2 O 3-doped g-C 3 N 4 were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The photocatalytic activity of the Fe 2 O 3 /g-C 3 N 4 catalysts was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) at room temperature under visible light irradiation. As expected, the assynthesized samples exhibited considerable improvement in the photodegradation of MB. The Fe 2 O 3 /g-C 3 N 4 (1.0 wt%) nanocomposite had superior photocatalytic activity, with almost 70% degradation efficiency within 90 min of irradiation. The enhanced performance was ascribed to the separation and migration of the photoinduced electron-hole pairs and taking part of the charge carriers in the chemical redox reactions at the surface of the photocatalyst. In this work, the effect of Fe weight percentage on the degradation potential was also studied, and the photocatalytic mechanism was proposed with the main reactive species •OH.

Construction of Z-scheme NiO/NiC/g-C3N4composites using NiC as novel cocatalysts for the efficient photocatalytic degradation

“…It can be concluded that the bandgap of NiAl-MMO was about 3.27 eV, close to the bandgap of pure NiO in the literature, 64,65 further indicating that NiAl-MMO was mainly composed of NiO. Among the as-prepared NiO/NiC/g-C 3 N 4 samples, L1C and L5C nanocomposites showed absorption features similar to g-C 3 N 4 and NiAl-MMO, respectively.…”

“…76 The photogenerated electrons in the CB of g-C 77,78 The superoxide radical anion O 2 c À , hydroxyl radical cOH, and the holes are known as the reactive species that facilitate the degradation of the organic pollutants into harmless products like CO 2 and H 2 O. 64,79 To further detect the main reactive oxidative species in the photocatalytic process, isopropanol (IPA), triethanolamine (TEOA), and benzoquinone (BQ) were used as the scavengers for hydroxyl radicals (cOH), holes (h + ) and superoxide radicals (O 2 c À ), respectively. The scavenger dosages were determined as 10 mmol L À1 in the RhB solution of 50 mg L À1 and TC solution of 30 mg L À1 .…”

Synthesis of BiPO4/SnO2 heterojunction for the photocatalytic degradation of RhB under visible light emitting diode irradiation

“…Generally, the degradation effect of the photocatalyst was determined by the photoinduced charge separation ability, light absorption, and adsorption capacity of the degraded substances. [ 40,41 ] From the PL results, compared with BiPO 4 , the photoinduced charge separation ability of BiPO 4 /SnO 2 composite is slightly increased. Based on the data for the photocatalytic degradation of RhB after 1 hr dark adsorption (before LED light irradiation), the RhB adsorption capacity of the samples is very close.…”

Fullerene (C60)‐doped zinc‐aluminium layered double hydroxide/polyvinyl alcohol nanocomposites: Synthesis, characterization, and photodegradation of methylene blue from water solution

“…The removal degrees of the photodegradation of MB are 65.16%, 55.57%, 53.31%, and 58.56% after 180 min, respectively. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism can be described as following reactions (20-32) [52][53][54][55][56][57][58] and schematic illustration (Figure 8).…”

“…The removal degrees of the photodegradation of MB are 65.16%, 55.57%, 53.31%, and 58.56% after 180 min, respectively. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism can be described as following reactions () [52–58] and schematic illustration (Figure 8). …”