The effect of cobalt-doped ZnO-g-C3N4 heterostructures on photocatalytic degradation of eosin yellow dye in water under simulated solar light
The unrestricted discharge of textile chemicals in natural water sources has posed major ecological and environmental threats to our standard of living. For decades, there has been a continuous search for affordable, and visible-light driven semiconductors with the capability of harnessing the full...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-03-01
|
| Series: | Results in Materials |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590048X2300153X |
| _version_ | 1797261835617959936 |
|---|---|
| author | Charles Kwame Bandoh Bernice Yram Danu Eric Selorm Agorku Francis Kofi Ampong Robert Kwame Nkum |
| author_facet | Charles Kwame Bandoh Bernice Yram Danu Eric Selorm Agorku Francis Kofi Ampong Robert Kwame Nkum |
| author_sort | Charles Kwame Bandoh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The unrestricted discharge of textile chemicals in natural water sources has posed major ecological and environmental threats to our standard of living. For decades, there has been a continuous search for affordable, and visible-light driven semiconductors with the capability of harnessing the full potential of sunlight to help curb the aforementioned problem. Herein, photocatalysts based on a series of cobalt (Co) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) co-doped ZnO were synthesized via the co-precipitation method for eosin yellow dye degradation in water under visible light. The functional groups present in the materials were determined by FTIR. Other techniques such as Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometry, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were utilized to study the optical properties, structural properties, morphology and elemental composition respectively. The nanomaterials' optical analysis showed a marginal rise in absorbance in the visible region with a corresponding reduction in the forbidden gap energy from 3.10 to 2.52 eV. XRD studies showed that the nanocomposites were polycrystalline in nature and possessed the hexagonal phase of ZnO having an average crystallite size of 42 nm. From the photocatalysis outcomes, the maximum photocatalytic performance was observed for the 0.8 % Co-doped ZnO-g-C3N4 system, which degraded 96 % of the dye in 180 min, with a rate constant of 17.01 x 10−3 min−1. The incorporation of Co enhanced ZnO's outstanding photocatalytic activity in the g- C3N4–ZnO system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:41:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-500be6eb274749bd85067c880fcdfb0f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-048X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:47:32Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Results in Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-500be6eb274749bd85067c880fcdfb0f2024-03-15T04:44:26ZengElsevierResults in Materials2590-048X2024-03-0121100515The effect of cobalt-doped ZnO-g-C3N4 heterostructures on photocatalytic degradation of eosin yellow dye in water under simulated solar lightCharles Kwame Bandoh0Bernice Yram Danu1Eric Selorm Agorku2Francis Kofi Ampong3Robert Kwame Nkum4Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana; Department of Physics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Chemical Sciences, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, GhanaDepartment of Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; Corresponding author.Department of Physics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Physics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaThe unrestricted discharge of textile chemicals in natural water sources has posed major ecological and environmental threats to our standard of living. For decades, there has been a continuous search for affordable, and visible-light driven semiconductors with the capability of harnessing the full potential of sunlight to help curb the aforementioned problem. Herein, photocatalysts based on a series of cobalt (Co) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) co-doped ZnO were synthesized via the co-precipitation method for eosin yellow dye degradation in water under visible light. The functional groups present in the materials were determined by FTIR. Other techniques such as Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometry, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were utilized to study the optical properties, structural properties, morphology and elemental composition respectively. The nanomaterials' optical analysis showed a marginal rise in absorbance in the visible region with a corresponding reduction in the forbidden gap energy from 3.10 to 2.52 eV. XRD studies showed that the nanocomposites were polycrystalline in nature and possessed the hexagonal phase of ZnO having an average crystallite size of 42 nm. From the photocatalysis outcomes, the maximum photocatalytic performance was observed for the 0.8 % Co-doped ZnO-g-C3N4 system, which degraded 96 % of the dye in 180 min, with a rate constant of 17.01 x 10−3 min−1. The incorporation of Co enhanced ZnO's outstanding photocatalytic activity in the g- C3N4–ZnO system.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590048X2300153XPhotocatalysisGraphitic carbon nitrideZinc oxideCobaltEosin yellow |
| spellingShingle | Charles Kwame Bandoh Bernice Yram Danu Eric Selorm Agorku Francis Kofi Ampong Robert Kwame Nkum The effect of cobalt-doped ZnO-g-C3N4 heterostructures on photocatalytic degradation of eosin yellow dye in water under simulated solar light Results in Materials Photocatalysis Graphitic carbon nitride Zinc oxide Cobalt Eosin yellow |
| title | The effect of cobalt-doped ZnO-g-C3N4 heterostructures on photocatalytic degradation of eosin yellow dye in water under simulated solar light |
| title_full | The effect of cobalt-doped ZnO-g-C3N4 heterostructures on photocatalytic degradation of eosin yellow dye in water under simulated solar light |
| title_fullStr | The effect of cobalt-doped ZnO-g-C3N4 heterostructures on photocatalytic degradation of eosin yellow dye in water under simulated solar light |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effect of cobalt-doped ZnO-g-C3N4 heterostructures on photocatalytic degradation of eosin yellow dye in water under simulated solar light |
| title_short | The effect of cobalt-doped ZnO-g-C3N4 heterostructures on photocatalytic degradation of eosin yellow dye in water under simulated solar light |
| title_sort | effect of cobalt doped zno g c3n4 heterostructures on photocatalytic degradation of eosin yellow dye in water under simulated solar light |
| topic | Photocatalysis Graphitic carbon nitride Zinc oxide Cobalt Eosin yellow |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590048X2300153X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT charleskwamebandoh theeffectofcobaltdopedznogc3n4heterostructuresonphotocatalyticdegradationofeosinyellowdyeinwaterundersimulatedsolarlight AT berniceyramdanu theeffectofcobaltdopedznogc3n4heterostructuresonphotocatalyticdegradationofeosinyellowdyeinwaterundersimulatedsolarlight AT ericselormagorku theeffectofcobaltdopedznogc3n4heterostructuresonphotocatalyticdegradationofeosinyellowdyeinwaterundersimulatedsolarlight AT franciskofiampong theeffectofcobaltdopedznogc3n4heterostructuresonphotocatalyticdegradationofeosinyellowdyeinwaterundersimulatedsolarlight AT robertkwamenkum theeffectofcobaltdopedznogc3n4heterostructuresonphotocatalyticdegradationofeosinyellowdyeinwaterundersimulatedsolarlight AT charleskwamebandoh effectofcobaltdopedznogc3n4heterostructuresonphotocatalyticdegradationofeosinyellowdyeinwaterundersimulatedsolarlight AT berniceyramdanu effectofcobaltdopedznogc3n4heterostructuresonphotocatalyticdegradationofeosinyellowdyeinwaterundersimulatedsolarlight AT ericselormagorku effectofcobaltdopedznogc3n4heterostructuresonphotocatalyticdegradationofeosinyellowdyeinwaterundersimulatedsolarlight AT franciskofiampong effectofcobaltdopedznogc3n4heterostructuresonphotocatalyticdegradationofeosinyellowdyeinwaterundersimulatedsolarlight AT robertkwamenkum effectofcobaltdopedznogc3n4heterostructuresonphotocatalyticdegradationofeosinyellowdyeinwaterundersimulatedsolarlight |