g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Modified with Metal Sulfides for Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants
Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>) proved to be a promising semiconductor for the photocatalytic degradation of various organic pollutants. However, its efficacy is limited by a fast electron hole recombination, a restricted quantity of active sites, and...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Shoaib Mukhtar Erzsébet Szabó-Bárdos Csilla Őze Tatjána Juzsakova Kornél Rácz Miklós Németh Ottó Horváth |
| author_facet | Shoaib Mukhtar Erzsébet Szabó-Bárdos Csilla Őze Tatjána Juzsakova Kornél Rácz Miklós Németh Ottó Horváth |
| author_sort | Shoaib Mukhtar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>) proved to be a promising semiconductor for the photocatalytic degradation of various organic pollutants. However, its efficacy is limited by a fast electron hole recombination, a restricted quantity of active sites, and a modest absorption in the visible range. To overcome these limitations, g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> and g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-ZnS composites were effectively produced utilizing a starch-assisted technique. The findings from FT-IR, XRD, EDX, XPS, BET, SEM, and TEM demonstrated that the enhanced photocatalytic activity of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> and g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-ZnS composites was primarily due to their improved photocarrier separation and transfer rates. The photocatalyst facilitated the aerobic photocatalytic degradation of colorless contaminants such as coumarin and para-nitrophenol (4-NP). For the decomposition of 4-NP, g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> exhibited a maximum efficiency of 90.86% in UV light and 16.78% in visible light, with rate constants of 0.29 h<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> and 0.016 h<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>, respectively. In contrast, g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-ZnS demonstrated a maximum efficiency of 100% in UV light and 15.1% in visible light, with rate constants of 0.57 h<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> and 0.018 h<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>, respectively. The bioinspired synthesis combined with the modification with metal sulfides proved to considerably enhance the photocatalytic activity of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>, increasing its potential for practical applicability in environmentally friendly water treatment systems for the efficient removal of recalcitrant organic contaminants. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-07d168e6277d4e738fc4e09c0d10403f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-07d168e6277d4e738fc4e09c0d10403f2025-01-24T13:43:16ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-01-0130225310.3390/molecules30020253g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Modified with Metal Sulfides for Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic PollutantsShoaib Mukhtar0Erzsébet Szabó-Bárdos1Csilla Őze2Tatjána Juzsakova3Kornél Rácz4Miklós Németh5Ottó Horváth6Research Group of Environmental and Inorganic Photochemistry, Center for Natural Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pannonia, P.O. Box 158, H-8201 Veszprém, HungaryResearch Group of Environmental and Inorganic Photochemistry, Center for Natural Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pannonia, P.O. Box 158, H-8201 Veszprém, HungaryDepartment of Materials Engineering, Research Center for Engineering Sciences, University of Pannonia, P.O. Box 158, H-8201 Veszprém, HungarySustainability Solutions Research Lab, Research Center for Biochemical, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, University of Pannonia, P.O. Box 158, H-8201 Veszprém, HungaryNanolab, Research Institute of Biomolecular and Chemical Engineering, University of Pannonia, P.O. Box 158, H-8201 Veszprém, HungaryCentre for Energy Research, Surface Chemistry and Catalysis Department, Konkoly-Thege Street 29–33, H-1121 Budapest, HungaryResearch Group of Environmental and Inorganic Photochemistry, Center for Natural Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pannonia, P.O. Box 158, H-8201 Veszprém, HungaryGraphitic carbon nitride (g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>) proved to be a promising semiconductor for the photocatalytic degradation of various organic pollutants. However, its efficacy is limited by a fast electron hole recombination, a restricted quantity of active sites, and a modest absorption in the visible range. To overcome these limitations, g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> and g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-ZnS composites were effectively produced utilizing a starch-assisted technique. The findings from FT-IR, XRD, EDX, XPS, BET, SEM, and TEM demonstrated that the enhanced photocatalytic activity of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> and g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-ZnS composites was primarily due to their improved photocarrier separation and transfer rates. The photocatalyst facilitated the aerobic photocatalytic degradation of colorless contaminants such as coumarin and para-nitrophenol (4-NP). For the decomposition of 4-NP, g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> exhibited a maximum efficiency of 90.86% in UV light and 16.78% in visible light, with rate constants of 0.29 h<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> and 0.016 h<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>, respectively. In contrast, g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-ZnS demonstrated a maximum efficiency of 100% in UV light and 15.1% in visible light, with rate constants of 0.57 h<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> and 0.018 h<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>, respectively. The bioinspired synthesis combined with the modification with metal sulfides proved to considerably enhance the photocatalytic activity of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>, increasing its potential for practical applicability in environmentally friendly water treatment systems for the efficient removal of recalcitrant organic contaminants.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/2/253g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> nanocompositeg-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-ZnS nanocompositestarch-assisted synthesisvisible-light-driven photocatalystcoumarinpara-nitrophenol |
| spellingShingle | Shoaib Mukhtar Erzsébet Szabó-Bárdos Csilla Őze Tatjána Juzsakova Kornél Rácz Miklós Németh Ottó Horváth g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Modified with Metal Sulfides for Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants Molecules g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> nanocomposite g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-ZnS nanocomposite starch-assisted synthesis visible-light-driven photocatalyst coumarin para-nitrophenol |
| title | g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Modified with Metal Sulfides for Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants |
| title_full | g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Modified with Metal Sulfides for Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants |
| title_fullStr | g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Modified with Metal Sulfides for Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants |
| title_full_unstemmed | g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Modified with Metal Sulfides for Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants |
| title_short | g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Modified with Metal Sulfides for Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants |
| title_sort | g c sub 3 sub n sub 4 sub modified with metal sulfides for visible light driven photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants |
| topic | g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> nanocomposite g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-ZnS nanocomposite starch-assisted synthesis visible-light-driven photocatalyst coumarin para-nitrophenol |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/2/253 |
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