Construction of a binary S-scheme S-g-C3N4/Co-ZF heterojunction with enhanced spatial charge separation for sunlight-driven photocatalytic performance

Ali Bahadur; Shahid Iqbal; Mohsin Javed; Syeda Saba Hassan; Sohail Nadeem; Ali Akbar; Rami M. Alzhrani; Murefah Mana Al-Anazy; Eslam B. Elkaeed; Nasser S. Awwad; Hala A. Ibrahium; Ayesha Mohyuddin

doi:10.1039/D1RA08525E

Construction of a binary S-scheme S-g-C₃N₄/Co-ZF heterojunction with enhanced spatial charge separation for sunlight-driven photocatalytic performance†

Ali Bahadur,^a Shahid Iqbal,

*^b Mohsin Javed,^c Syeda Saba Hassan,^c Sohail Nadeem,^c Ali Akbar,

^d Rami M. Alzhrani,^e Murefah Mana Al-Anazy,

^f Eslam B. Elkaeed,

^g Nasser S. Awwad,^h Hala A. Ibrahium^ij and Ayesha Mohyuddin^c

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Technology, Wenzhou-Kean University, Wenzhou, China

^b Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences (SNS), National University of Science and Technology (NUST), H-12, Islamabad, Pakistan
E-mail: shahidiqbal.chem@sns.nust.edu.pk

^c Department of Chemistry, School of Science, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan

^d Department of Physics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

^e Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia

^f Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia

^g Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh 13713, Saudi Arabia

^h Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia

ⁱ Biology Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia

^j Department of Semi Pilot Plant, Nuclear Materials Authority, P.O. Box 530, El Maadi, Egypt

Abstract

A step-scheme (S-scheme) photocatalyst made of sulfurized graphitic carbon nitride/cobalt doped zinc ferrite (S-g-C₃N₄/Co-ZF) was constructed using a hydrothermal process because the building of S-scheme systems might increase the lifespan of highly reactive charge carriers. Utilizing cutting-edge methods, the hybrid photocatalyst was evaluated by employing TEM, XPS, XRD, BET, FTIR, transient photo-response, UV-vis, EIS and ESR signals. In order to create a variety of binary nanocomposites (NCs), nanoparticles (NPs) of 6% cobalt doped zinc ferrite (Co-ZF) were mixed with S-g-C₃N₄ at various concentrations, ranging from 10 to 80 wt%. For photocatalytic dye removal, a particular binary NC constructed between S-g-C₃N₄ and Co-ZF produces a huge amount of catalytic active sites. The findings showed that loading of S-g-C₃N₄ on 6% Co-ZF NPs serves as a good heterointerface for e⁻/h⁺ separation and transportation through the S-scheme S-g-C₃N₄/Co-ZF heterojunction. By boosting the hybrid system's BET surface area for the photocatalytic process, the addition of 6% Co-ZF improves the system's ability to absorb more sunlight and boosts its photocatalytic activity. The highest photo-removal effectiveness (98%), which is around 2.45 times higher than that of its competitors, was achieved by the hybrid photocatalyst system with an ideal loading of 48% Co-ZF. Furthermore, the trapping studies showed that the primary species involved in the MB aqueous photo-degradation were ˙OH⁻ and h⁺.

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Construction of a binary S-scheme S-g-C₃N₄/Co-ZF heterojunction with enhanced spatial charge separation for sunlight-driven photocatalytic performance†

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Construction of a binary S-scheme S-g-C₃N₄/Co-ZF heterojunction with enhanced spatial charge separation for sunlight-driven photocatalytic performance

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