Improved photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B by g-C(3)N(4) loaded BiVO(4) nanocomposites

Photocatalytic degradation has emerged as one of the most efficient methods to eliminate toxic dyes from wastewater. In this context, graphitic nitride (g-C(3)N(4)) loaded BiVO(4) nanocomposites (5 wt% g-CN@BiVO(4) and 10 wt% g-CN@BiVO(4)) have been fabricated by the wet impregnation method, and their efficiency towards photocatalytic removal of rhodamine B have been investigated under visible light irradiation. These hybrid composites have been characterized by XRD, FESEM, HRTEM, EDS-mapping, UV-Vis DRS, DLS, XPS and BET, etc. The HRTEM images revealed that BiVO(4) has a decagonal shape covered by a layered nanosheet-like structure of g-C(3)N(4). BET measurements suggest increasing the proportion of g-C(3)N(4) results enhancement of the specific surface area. Among different photocatalysts, the 10 wt% g-C(3)N(4)@BiVO(4) hybrid possesses the best catalytic activity with 86% degradation efficiency after 60 min of reaction time. The LC-MS studies suggest that the degradation reactions follow the de-ethylation pathway. Even after five cycles, the heterostructure shows only a 14% decrease in photocatalytic activity, confirming its stability. As a result, the binary composite can be regarded as a promising catalyst for the degradation of pollutants due to its ease of preparation, high stability and superior catalytic activity.