One-Step Fabrication of the ZnO/g-C3N4 Composite for Visible Light-Responsive Photocatalytic Degradation of Bisphenol E in Aqueous Solution

Mahmudul Hassan Suhag; Aklima Khatun; Ikki Tateishi; Mai Furukawa; Hideyuki Katsumata; Satoshi Kaneco

doi:10.1021/acsomega.2c06678

One-Step Fabrication of the ZnO/g-C₃N₄ Composite for Visible Light-Responsive Photocatalytic Degradation of Bisphenol E in Aqueous Solution

ACS Omega. 2023 Mar 21;8(13):11824-11836. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.2c06678. eCollection 2023 Apr 4.

Authors

Mahmudul Hassan Suhag^{1

2}, Aklima Khatun¹, Ikki Tateishi³, Mai Furukawa¹, Hideyuki Katsumata¹, Satoshi Kaneco¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry for Materials, Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, Tsu, Mie 514-8507, Japan.
² Department of Chemistry, University of Barishal, Barishal 8254, Bangladesh.
³ Environmental Preservation Center, Mie University, Tsu, Mie 514-8507, Japan.

Abstract

The ZnO/g-C₃N₄ composite was successfully synthesized by a simple one-step calcination of a urea and zinc acetate mixture. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized composite was evaluated in the degradation of bisphenol E (BPE). The morphology, crystallinity, optical properties, and composition of the synthesized composite were characterized by using various analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmitted electron microscopy (TEM), field emission-electron probe microanalysis (FE-EPMA), nitrogen adsorption and desorption isotherm measurement, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The degradation rate of BPE with the ZnO/g-C₃N₄ composite was 8 times larger than that obtained with pure g-C₃N₄ at the optimal conditions. The excellent photocatalytic activity was attributed to the synergistic effect between the g-C₃N₄ and ZnO, which enhanced the efficiency of charge separations, reduced the e^-/h⁺ pairs recombination, and increased the visible light absorption ability. The radical scavenger studies indicated that the ^•O₂ ^- and h⁺ species were mainly responsible for the degradation of BPE. The stability test suggested the chemical and photostability of the synthesized composite. Two possible photocatalytical mechanisms have been suggested.