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Design and Fabrication of a Novel Metal-Free SiO2/g-C3N4 Nanocomposite: A Robust Photocatalyst for the Degradation of Organic Contaminants

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Abstract

Development of novel and efficient nanostructured materials for the waste water treatment is a great challenge for the researchers. In this regard, we report a novel SiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites were tailored via simple solvothermal route and characterized by various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques such as XRD, FT-IR, UV–Vis DRS, SEM, TEM and XPS. The photocatalytic performances of the as-prepared SiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites were evaluated for the removal of hazardous rhodamine B (RhB) and crystal violet (CV) organic dyes in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. Interestingly, the UV–Visible spectroscopy results revealed that the as-synthesized SiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite showed superior photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB and CV dyes could degrade 99 and 98% under visible-light irradiation respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of SiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites could be mainly attributed to the proficient separation of photo-induced charge carriers. A plausible degradation mechanism for the controlled visible-light photocatalytic activity of SiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites was strongly evidenced by the trap** experiment by employing different scavengers. The present research findings may open up a new platform for the g-C3N4 based photocatalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants.

Graphical Abstract

Proposed degradation mechanism of the SiO2/g-C3N4 photocatalyst.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their sincere thanks to the College managing board, Principal and Head of the Department, VHNSN College for providing the necessary research facilities. Finally I thank Padova University, Italy for providing XPS analysis facility.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, VHNSN College, Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, 626001, India

    K. Prakash, P. Senthil Kumar, P. Latha, K. Saravanakumar & S. Karuthapandian

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  1. K. Prakash
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  2. P. Senthil Kumar
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  3. P. Latha
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Correspondence to S. Karuthapandian.

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Prakash, K., Kumar, P.S., Latha, P. et al. Design and Fabrication of a Novel Metal-Free SiO2/g-C3N4 Nanocomposite: A Robust Photocatalyst for the Degradation of Organic Contaminants. J Inorg Organomet Polym 28, 268–278 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-017-0715-5

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