Facile synthesis of a GO-g-C3N4/BaTiO3 ternary nanocomposites for visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B

Jishu Rawal; Seul-Yi Lee; Soo-Jin Park

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140479

Facile synthesis of a GO-g-C₃N₄/BaTiO₃ ternary nanocomposites for visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B

Chemosphere. 2023 Dec:345:140479. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140479. Epub 2023 Oct 18.

Authors

Jishu Rawal¹, Seul-Yi Lee², Soo-Jin Park³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Inha University, 100 Inharo, Incheon, 22212, South Korea. Electronic address: rawaljishu26@gmail.com.
² Department of Chemistry, Inha University, 100 Inharo, Incheon, 22212, South Korea. Electronic address: leesy1019@inha.ac.kr.
³ Department of Chemistry, Inha University, 100 Inharo, Incheon, 22212, South Korea. Electronic address: sjpark@inha.ac.kr.

PMID: 37863208
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140479

Abstract

Photogenerated charge carriers can undergo rapid recombination in conventional photocatalyst systems, reducing their photocatalytic efficiency. To address this bottleneck, a g-C₃N₄/BaTiO₃ (CNB) heterojunction composite was decorated with different mass ratios of graphene oxide (GO) to form a novel visible-light responsive ternary GO-g-C₃N₄/BaTiO₃ (GOCNB) nanocomposite using a facile fabrication method. The GOCNB photocatalyst exhibited significantly higher light absorption and greater charge transfer than CNB, g-C₃N₄, or BaTiO₃. The photodegradation performance of GOCNB was optimized with a 2% mass loading of GO, and it achieved a degradation rate constant of 14.9 × 10^-3 min^-1 for rhodamine B with an efficiency of 94% within 180 min. The rate constant was 8-fold and 6-fold higher than that of bare BaTiO₃ and CNB, respectively. The stronger photocatalytic activity was attributed to the synergistic effect of GO, g-C₃N₄, and BaTiO₃, with g-C₃N₄ and BaTiO₃ promoting charge transfer within a wider visible light range and GO promoting electron mobility and the photocatalyst's adsorption capacity. In particular, the proposed system maintained the spatial separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, which is vital for high photocatalytic activity. This study provides new insights into semiconductor-based photocatalytic systems and suggests a route for more environmentally sustainable technologies.

Keywords: Graphene oxide; Heterojunction formation; Photosensitizer.

MeSH terms

Light*
Nanocomposites*

Substances

rhodamine B
barium titanate(IV)
graphene oxide