A facile
and convenient process for the fabrication of a Z-scheme
heterojunction g-C3N4 nanosheet/FeWO4 nanoparticle composite is reported. The structure of the synthesized
g-C3N4/FeWO4 nanocomposite was analyzed
by a variety of techniques including X-ray powder diffraction (XRD),
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy,
diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
(EDX), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES),
photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), field emission scanning electron
microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermogravimetric
analysis (TGA). The obtained results from DRS and PL analyses confirmed
that the as-prepared nanocomposite g-C3N4/FeWO4 illustrated improved photocatalytic performance compared
with pristine graphitic carbon nitride. The Z-scheme heterostructured
nanocomposite (g-C3N4/FeWO4) with
a suitable band structure shows efficient photocatalytic activity
due to the spatial separation of charge carriers. The obtained g-C3N4/FeWO4 heterostructured photocatalyst
demonstrated high efficiency in the tandem photo-oxidation/Knoevenagel
condensation reaction under visible illumination and O2 atmosphere as a green oxidant. The catalytic activity of the g-C3N4/FeWO4 did not show considerable decline
even after five cycles of use.