Synthesis of ZnO Co-doped Ph-g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> for enhanced photocatalytic organic pollutants removal under visible light
Murad Z. A. Warshagha, M. Muneer
Abstract
The paper deals with the synthesis of a binary ZnO/Ph-g-C3N4 nanocomposite, a highly efficient visible light active catalyst for the photodegradation of organic pollutants in aqueous suspension by single-step calcination and combustion process. The synthesised materials have been characterised using different techniques such as X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis, FTIR, SEM-EDX, and TEM. The UV-Vis DRS analysis indicates 20–30 nm red-shift and a decrease in bandgap from 3.1 to 2.7 eV on doping ZnO with Ph-g-C3N4. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared nanocomposites was tested by studying the degradation of two different chromophoric dyes, rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO) and a drug derivative, Paracetamol. The composite, 0.05% ZnO/Ph-g-C3N4, displayed the best activity for the degradation of both dyes and the drug. The trapping and quenching studies indicate that both hydroxyl and superoxide radical anions are responsible for the degradation of pollutants under investigation. The higher photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples could be attributed to the generation of heterojunction between the Ph-g-C3N4 and ZnO, which is the response for improved light absorption and efficient separation of the photo-excited electron and hole pair.