Preparation of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) for novel dielectric and photocatalytic dye removal applications

Abstract

Recent developments in 2D nanomaterials have greatly expanded their use in engineering applications. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) shows a combination of electrical conductivity, sensing and luminescence abilities, biocompatibility, and chemical stability. The present study showcases the effectiveness of g-C3N4 as a photocatalyst for removing various organic molecules from water (such as methylene blue, 4-nitrophenol, and pharmaceutical drugs) and its potential use in dielectric applications when combined with an organic polymer (polyvinylidene fluoride; PVDF). XRD patterns confirmed the formation of g-C3N4 (which is complimented by the UV-Visible and FTIR results) and PVDF-g-C3N4 composite film. SEM-EDS verified the chemical homogeneity of the as-prepared g-C3N4 powder. Maximum photocatalytic degradation was observed for methylene blue dye (96.48%) with a half-life of 24.18 min, whereas the least degradation was detected for hydroxychloroquine (53.10%) with a half-life of 90.12 min after 120 min of UV-visible exposure. 10wt% C3N4 reinforced PVDF thick films exhibited stable dielectric properties at low temperature (below 60°C) as compared to PVDF alone. At 1kHz, the dielectric permittivity and tangent loss of the PVDF-g-C3N4 composites come out to be ~6 and ~0.05, respectively (at room temperature). The AC conductivity and activation energy of the synthesized composite was also studied.