Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fabrication of highly efficient g-C3N4/ZnO/Fe2O3 ternary composite with enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation

  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The development of an efficient and photostable heterostructured photocatalyst has attracted a great deal of attention for the degradation of organic pollutants under visible light. Herein, we have developed a highly efficient graphitic carbon nitride/zinc oxide/iron oxide (g-C3N4/ZnO/Fe2O3) ternary composite photocatalysts that were prepared by a simple and cost-effective calcination method. The crystalline structure, functional groups, morphological and optical properties of the as-prepared g-C3N4/ZnO/Fe2O3 (GZF) ternary composite were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and UV–Vis diffuse-reflectance spectroscopic techniques. The GZF composite reveals enhanced methylene blue (MB) degradation with good photostability of 100% retention rate even after 5 cycles under visible light irradiation. Moreover, GZF composite was degraded 94% of MB after 120 min under visible light irradiation which was almost 6.6- and 3.1-fold higher than individual g-C3N4 (GCN) and g-C3N4/ZnO (GZ). The results suggest that the composites of g-C3N4 with metal oxide under visible light significantly enhance the electron transfer process.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  1. J. He, D.W. Shao, L.C. Zheng, L.J. Zheng, D.Q. Feng, J.P. Xu, X.H. Zhang, W.C. Wang, W.-H. Wang, F. Lu, H. Dong, Y.H. Cheng, H. Liu, R.K. Zheng, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 203, 917–926 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Z. Zhang, K. Liu, Y. Bao, B. Dong, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 203, 599–606 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. S. Kamal, S. Balu, S. Palanisamy, K. Uma, V. Velusamy, T.C.K. Yang, Results Phys. 12, 1238–1244 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. X. Chen, Z. Wu, D. Liu, Z. Gao, Nanoscale Res. Lett. 12, 143 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. H. Hu, Y. Lin, Y.H. Hu, Catal. Today 341, 90–95 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. X. Wang, K. Maeda, A. Thomas, K. Takanabe, G. Xin, J.M. Carlsson, K. Domen, M. Antonietti, Nat. Mater. 8, 76–80 (2009)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. C. Liu, W. Ma, J. Chen, Z. Mao, D. Wang, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 32, 25033–25044 (2021)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. A.A. Yadav, S.-W. Kang, Y.M. Hunge, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 32, 15577–15585 (2021)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Y. Li, Y. Sun, W. Ho, Y. Zhang, H. Huang, Q. Cai, F. Dong, Sci. Bull. 63, 609–620 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. D. Mittal, D.P. Dutta, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 32, 18512–18543 (2021)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. A.H. Kianfar, M.A. Arayesh, J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 8, 103640 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. I. Khan, K. Saeed, I. Zekker, B. Zhang, A.H. Hendi, A. Ahmad, S. Ahmad, N. Zada, H. Ahmad, L.A. Shah, T. Shah, I. Khan, Water 14, 242 (2022)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. H. Li, Y. Zhao, C. Yin, L. Jiao, L. Ding, Colloids Surf. A Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 572, 147–151 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. S. Zhang, P. Gu, R. Ma, C. Luo, T. Wen, G. Zhao, W. Cheng, X. Wang, Catal. Today 335, 65–77 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. M. Ismael, Chem. Phys. Lett. 739, 136992–137002 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Y. Ren, D. Zeng, W.-J. Ong, Chin. J. Catal. 40, 289–319 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. S. Tonda, S. Kumar, S. Kandula, V. Shanker, J. Mater. Chem. A 2, 6772–6780 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Z. Jiang, C. Zhu, W. Wan, K. Qian, J. Xie, J. Mater. Chem. A 4, 1806–1818 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Y.-X. Sun, Y.-P. Yuan, L.-C. Qiu, X. Jiang, A.-J. Xie, Y.-H. Shena, J.-H. Zhu, Dalton Trans. 41, 6756–6763 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. T. Senasu, T. Chankhanittha, K. Hemavibool, S. Nanan, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 123, 105558–105572 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. T. Sansenya, N. Masri, T. Chankhanittha, T. Senasu, J. Piriyanon, S. Mukdasai, S. Nanan, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 160, 110353 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. S. Kakarndee, S. Nanan, J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 6, 74–94 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. M. Gayathri, M. Sakar, E. Satheeshkumar, E. Sundaravadivel, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 33, 9347–9357 (2022)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. S. Balu, S. Velmurugan, S. Palanisamy, S.-W. Chen, V. Velusamy, T.C.K. Yang, E.-S.I. El-Shafey, J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. Eng. 99, 258–267 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. R. Chalasani, S. Vasudevan, ACS Nano 7, 4093–4104 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Z. Wang, Y. Fan, R. Wu, Y. Huo, H. Wu, F. Wang, X. Xu, RSC Adv. 8, 5180–5188 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. D. Xiao, K. Dai, Y. Qu, Y. Yin, H. Chen, Appl. Surf. Sci. 358, 181–187 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Y. Wang, X. Li, Y. Yang, J. Yang, N. Zhang, X. Wu, X. Li, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 31, 5187–5197 (2020)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Y. Sheng, Z. Wei, H. Miao, W. Yao, H. Li, Y. Zhu, Chem. Eng. J. 370, 287–294 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. J.X. Sun, Y.P. Yuan, L.G. Qiu, X. Jiang, A.J. Xie, Y.H. Shen, Dalton Trans. 41, 6756–6763 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. A. Khan, U. Alam, W. Raza, D. Bahnemann, M. Muneer, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 115, 59–68 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Z. Wu, X. Chen, X. Liu, X. Yang, Y. Yang, Nanoscale Res. Lett. 14, 147 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. C. Lu, P. Zhang, S. Jiang, X. Wu, S. Song, M. Zhu, Z. Lou, Z. Li, F. Liu, Y. Liu, Y. Wang, Z. Le, Appl. Catal.: B Environ. 200, 378–385 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. P. Praus, L. Svoboda, R. Dvorský, M. Reli, Ceram. Int. 44, 3837–3846 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. C.K. Fan, Q. Feng, G.Q. Xu, J. Lv, Y. Zhang, J.Q. Liu, Y.Q. Qin, Y.C. Wu, Appl. Surf. Sci. 427, 730–738 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Y.C. Zhao, D.L. Yu, H.W. Zhou, Y.J. Tian, O. Yanagisawa, J. Mater. Sci. 40, 2645–2647 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Z. Wang, H. Zhang, L. Zhang, J. Yuan, S. Yan, C. Wang, Nanotechnology 14, 11–15 (2003)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. X. Li, J. Zhang, L. Shen, Y. Ma, W. Lei, Q. Cui, G. Zou, Appl. Phys. A 94, 387–392 (2009)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Z. Zhu, P. Huo, Z. Lu, Y. Yan, Z. Liu, W. Sh, H. Dong, Chem. Eng. J. 331, 615–625 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Z. Yang, J. Yan, J. Lian, H. Xu, X. She, H. Li, Chem. Select. 1, 5679–5685 (2016)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. A. Behera, D. Kandi, S.M. Majhi, S. Martha, K. Parida, Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 9, 436–446 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. N. Mao, Sci. Rep. 9, 12383 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. L.A.L. Thi, M.M. Neto, T.P. Van, T.N. Ngoc, T.M.N. Thi, X.S. Nguyen, C.T. Nguyen, Adv. Mater. Sci. Eng. 2021, 6651633 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  44. C. Schlumberger, M. Thommes, Adv. Mater. Interface 8, 2002181 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. G. Greczynski, L. Hultman, Prog. Mater. Sci. 107, 100591 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. P. Sharma, P.P. Sarngan, A. Lakshmanan, D. Sarkar, J. Mater. Sci: Mater. Electron. 33, 9116–9125 (2022)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. T. He, Y. Wu, C. Jiang, Z. Chen, Y. Wang, G. Liu, Z. Xu, G. Ning, X. Chen, Y. Zhao, PLoS ONE 15, e0237389 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. X. Yang, F. Qian, G. Zou, M. Li, J. Lu, Y. Li, M. Bao, Appl. Catal. B 193, 22 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Q. Xu, B. Zhu, C. Jiang, B. Cheng, J. Yu, Sol. RRL 2, 1800006 2018.

  50. N. Kumaresan, M. Maria AngelinSinthiya, M. Praveen Kumar, S. Ravichandran, R. Ramesh Babu, K. Sethurman, K. Ramamurthi, Arab. J. Chem. 13, 2843 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  51. D.S. Rahman, S.K. Pal, S.S. Singha, S. Kundu, S. Basu, S.K. Ghosh, Mater. Adv. 1, 2897–2907 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Y.P. Zhu, M. Li, Y.L. Liu, T.Z. Ren, Z.Y. Yuan, J. Phys. Chem. C. 118, 10963–10971 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. G. Di, Z. Zhu, H. Zhang, J. Zhu, Y. Qiu, D. Yin, S. Küppers, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 538, 256–266 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. M. Zhou, X. Tian, H. Yu, Z. Wang, C. Ren, L. Zhou, Y.-W. Lin, L. Dou, ACS Omega 6, 26439–26453 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. I.-H. Tseng, Y.-M. Sung, P.-Y. Chang, C.-Y. Chen, Polymers 11, 146 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. H. Osman, Z. Su, X. Ma, Environ. Chem. Lett. 15, 435–441 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. R.C. Pawar, Y. Son, Y.J. Kim, S.H. Ahn, C.S. Lee, Curr. Appl. Phys. 16, 101–108 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. M.A. Bajiri, A. Hezam, K. Namratha, R. Viswanath, Q.A. Drmosh, H.S.B. Naik, K. Byrappa, J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 7, 103412 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. X. Zhong, M. Jin, H. Dong, L. Liu, L. Wang, H. Yu, S. Leng, G. Zhuang, X. Li, W. Wang, J. Solid. State. Chem. 220, 54–59 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. A. Alsalme, A.H. Galal, E.F. El-Sherbeny, A. Soltan, M.F. Abdel-Messih, M.A. Ahmed, Diam. Relat. Mater. 122, 108819 (2022)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. H.S.M. Abd-Rabboh, A.H. Galal, R.A. Aziz, M.A. Ahmed, RSC Adv. 11, 29507–29518 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. M. Benaissa, N. Abbas, S.A. Arni, N. Elboughdiri, A. Moumen, M.S. Hamdy, H.S.M. Abd-Rabboh, A.H. Galal, M.G. Al-Metwaly, M.A. Ahmed, Opt. Mater. 118, 111237 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. M.R. Shenoy, S. Ayyasamy, V. Bhojan, R. Swaminathan, N. Raju, P. Senthil Kumar, M. Sasikumar, G. Kadarkarai, S. Tamilarasan, S. Thangavelu, J. Suryakanth, M.V. Reddy, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 32, 4766–4783 (2021)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  64. D.R. Paul, S. Gautam, P. Panchal, S.P. Nehra, P. Choudhary, A. Sharma, ACS Omega 5, 3828–3838 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  65. F. Yu, Y. Li, Z. Liu, D. Nan, B. Wang, L. He, J. Zhang, X. Tang, Y. Liu, Appl. Phys. A 127, 818 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. M.A. Qamar, S. Shahid, M. Javed, S. Iqbal, M. Sher, M.B. Akbar, J. Photochem. Photobiol. A 401, 112776 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. M. Javed, M.A. Qamar, S. Shahid, H.O. Alsaab, S. Asif, RSC Adv. 11, 37254–37267 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. T. Wang, M. Huang, X. Liu, Z. Zhang, Y. Liu, W. Tang, S. Bao, T. Fang, RSC Adv. 9, 29109–29119 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. M.A. Karimi, M. Iliyat, M. Atashkadi, M. Ranjbar, A. Habibi-Yangjeh, J. Chin. Chem. Soc. 67, 2032–2041 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The authors have not disclosed any funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Thiruvalluvar Government Arts College, Rasipuram, 637401, India

    K. Shanthini & V. Manivannan

  2. Department of Chemistry, Padmavani Arts & Science College for Women, Salem, 636011, India

    K. Shanthini

  3. Department of Chemistry, PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, 641014, India

    K. M. Govindaraju

  4. Department of Chemistry, Sacred Heart College (Autonomous), Tirupattur, 635601, India

    V. Collins Arun Prakash

  5. Centre for Nanoscience and Technology, AC College of Technology, Anna University, Chennai, 600025, India

    G. S. Lekshmi

  6. Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, People’s Republic of China

    R. Govindan

Authors
  1. K. Shanthini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. V. Manivannan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. K. M. Govindaraju
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. V. Collins Arun Prakash
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. G. S. Lekshmi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. R. Govindan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: [KS,VM]; Methodology: [KS,VCAP,KMG]; Formal analysis and investigation: [RG,GSL]; Writing—original draft preparation: [RG]; Writing—review and editing: [RG,GSL], Resources: [GSL], Supervision: [VM].

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to V. Manivannan, G. S. Lekshmi or R. Govindan.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The author declares no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shanthini, K., Manivannan, V., Govindaraju, K.M. et al. Fabrication of highly efficient g-C3N4/ZnO/Fe2O3 ternary composite with enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 15393–15407 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-08447-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-08447-8

Search

Navigation