Boosting the photocatalytic efficiency of g-C3N4 for effective removal of RhB and MB from aqueous medium

Abstract

Due to the adverse consequences the presence of dyes in the aquatic system poses on the ecosystem and human health, a major body of research has been dedicated to tackle the issue of degrading such contaminants. The utilization of sustainable energy technology, namely photocatalysis, in the removal of such contaminants proved to achieve relatively positive advances in the field of water treatment. The present study employed the combustion method for the synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄). Diverse characterization studies were employed, including XRD, SEM, and FTIR to confirm the successful fabrication of g-C₃N₄. Results showed that the band gap was 2.67 eV with 473 nm adsorption of visible light, and appropriate positions of valence and conduction bands. This renders the prepared material a suitable one to be employed as a visible-light-responsive catalyst for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and Methylene Blue (MB). Results demonstrated that the removal of RhB (90 %) was slightly better than that of MB (87 %) within 150 min under visible light. The optimal degradation performance reached 95 % at catalyst dosage of 0.02 and 0.03 g/L for RhB and MB, respectively. The current research work advocates the potential of improving the morphology of g-C₃N₄ through a two-step heating process for the purpose of optimizing this catalyst to attain better photocatalytic performance regarding contaminant degradation.