Abstract
The synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride/cadmium sulfide core-shell nanofibers has been studied for the improved photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. The enhancement in photocatalytic activity in g-C3N4@CdS core-shell nanostructures has been increased by controlling the thickness of the CdS shell. Additionally, the favorable bandgap, suitable band positions, and high thermal stability played an important role to enhance the photodegradation rate of catalysts. g-C3N4@CdS core-shell nanofiber arrays were synthesized by using a simple two-step process. g-C3N4 nanofiber (gcnf) was synthesized by using a simple polycondensation method and followed by a surface modification step for the deposition of CdS nanoparticles. The characterization of core-shell nanofibers and their photocatalytic activity was examined by powder X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, FESEM, EDS, and TEM microscopy. g-C3N4@CdS core-shell nanofibers (gcnf/CdS, 0.38; gcnf/CdS, 0.19; and gcnf/CdS, 0.09) showed enhanced photocatalytic degradation efficiency of ~ 98% in 40, 50, and 70 min, respectively. Pristine g-C3N4 nanofibers and CdS nanoparticles displayed the photodegradation efficiency of ~ 98% in 100 and 170 min, respectively. gcnf/CdS, 0.38 core-shell nanofibers (0.38 M of citric acid), offered the highest photodegradation rate of 0.0624 min−1, which is ~ 2.5- and 3-fold higher than pristine g-C3N4 nanofibers and CdS nanoparticles, respectively. The increase in the photodegradation rate of the g-C3N4@CdS core-shell nanostructure is due to the synergetic effect of g-C3N4 and CdS. Thus, the present work highlights the enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability of g-C3N4@CdS core-shell nanofibers and found to be useful in energy harvesting and environmental remediation applications.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, for providing necessary facilities and support. We gratefully acknowledge MNIT-Jaipur and IIT Roorkee for XRD and SEM measurements.
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SBV acknowledges the University Grant Commission, Government of India, for Ph.D. Fellowship as National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste (NF-SC).
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All the authors have contributed to the structural formation of this work. Sai Bhargava Vuggili has performed the experimental part and data analysis, and interpreted the data along with Kaushal Kadiya. Also, the first draft with all reviewer comments of the manuscript was written by Sai Bhargava Vuggili. The manuscript was checked and corrected by Umesh Kumar Gaur and Manu Sharma. Finally, all the authors have read and approved the final manuscript. Manu Sharma has submitted manuscript and authors’ responses to the reviewer’s comments to the Environmental Science and Pollution Research journal.
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Vuggili, S.B., Kadiya, K., Gaur, U.K. et al. Synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride/cadmium sulfide core-shell nanofibers for enhanced photocatalysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 46377–46389 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10568-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10568-8