Photocatalytic activity of selenium decorated graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposites for dye Industries wastewater remediation

Abstract

In situ selenium-doped graphitic carbon nitride, also known as Se-g-C₃N₄(SCN), were created in the current study by employing inexpensive urea and selenium metal powder as precursor materials. SEM (scanning electron microscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy), as well as TEM (transmission electron microscopy) techniques were utilized to describe the morphological characteristics, optical characteristics, and structural characteristics of the treated photocatalyst. Because of its potential use in photocatalytic environmental pollution remediation, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄), a metal-free photocatalyst, has received a lot of interest. This work not only offers a straightforward method to improve the photocatalytic performance for g-C₃N₄ but also creates a new path for the logical preparation of efficient polymeric photocatalysts. The results demonstrate that does not alter the crystalline structure of the sample but instead increases the surface area of g-C₃N₄ by dispersing it widely. Three different photocatalytic composites of g-C₃N₄ and SeNPs in the mass ratios of 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1, denoted SCN1, SCN2, and SCN3, were created for the methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) photodegradation. The combined photocatalytic degradation rate of MB after 150 min in visible light (500–800 nm) was 52.4% for g-C₃N₄, 75.4% for SCN1, 87.8% for SCN2, and 81.3% for SCN3. For methyl orange, the photocatalytic activity of produced materials was also investigated. The analysis's outcome reveals astonishing deterioration values were 45.6% for g-C₃N₄, SCN1 (62.5%), SCN2 (74.1%), and SCN3(68.5%), respectively. The synthesized photocatalyst offers great potential for the effective removal of dye industeries wastewater remediation.