Facile thermal synthesis of g–C3N4/ZnO nanocomposite with antibacterial properties for photodegradation of Methylene blue

Semiconductors as photocatalysts are ideal materials for wastewater remediation. A nanocomposite of g–C _3 N _4 and ZnO was produced using a two-step in situ synthesis technique to achieve a better photocatalyst. The samples were assessed via UV–vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy, transmission elec...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohammad Javad Hakimi-Tehrani, S A Hassanzadeh-Tabrizi, Narjes Koupaei, Ali Saffar-Teluri, Mahdi Rafiei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2021-01-01
Series:Materials Research Express
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/ac3c71
Description
Summary:Semiconductors as photocatalysts are ideal materials for wastewater remediation. A nanocomposite of g–C _3 N _4 and ZnO was produced using a two-step in situ synthesis technique to achieve a better photocatalyst. The samples were assessed via UV–vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared analysis, and x-ray diffraction. The photodegradation of methylene blue as an organic dye model was assessed to assess the photocatalytic characteristics of the fabricated samples. The antibacterial characteristics of synthesized samples were also investigated. The findings revealed that the photodegradation efficiency of the binary g–C _3 N _4 /ZnO systems was better than that of pure g–C _3 N _4 . Under irradiation, the photodegradation yield of g–C _3 N _4 /ZnO with a 15 wt.% of ZnO was up to 3.5 times better than that of pristine g–C _3 N _4 . The feature of enhanced separation of photoinduced holes and electrons resulting from heterojunction creation among g–C _3 N _4 and ZnO surfaces might be attributed to this photocatalytic activity enhancement. The synthesized binary nanocomposites showed suitable antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria .
ISSN:2053-1591