Development of stable S-scheme 2D–2D g-C3N4/CdS nanoheterojunction arrays for enhanced visible light photomineralisation of nitrophenol priority water pollutants
Muhammad Saad, Ali Bahadur, Shahid Iqbal, Sajid Mahmood, Muhammad Tayyab, Matar Alshalwi, Mazloom Shah
Abstract
Abstract The investigation focused on creating and studying a new 2D–2D S-scheme CdS/g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction photocatalyst. Various techniques examined its structure, composition, and optical properties. This included XRD, XPS, EDS, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, DRS, and PL. The heterojunction showed a reduced charge recombination rate and more excellent stability, helping to lessen photocorrosion. This was due to photogenerated holes moving more quickly out of the CdS valence band. The interface between g-C 3 N 4 and CdS favored a synergistic charge transfer. A suitable flat band potential measurement supported enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in degrading 4-nitrophenol and 2-nitrophenol. This resulted in remarkable degradation efficiency of up to 99% and mineralization of up to 79%. The findings highlighted the practical design of the new 2D–2D S-scheme CdS/g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction photocatalyst and its potential application in various energy and environmental settings, such as pollutant removal, hydrogen production, and CO 2 conversion.