Sunlight-Mediated Photocatalytic Activity of ZrO2/g-C3N4 Nanocomposite for Removal of Rhodamine B

Abstract

The photoactivity of graphitic carbon nitride (g–C3N4) has historically been primarily constrained by rapid charge recombination rate and limited visible light sensitivity. It has been demonstrated that g-C3N4 performs better as a photocatalyst when combined with semiconductors to generate composites. In this study, a composites photocatalyst was developed using g-C3N4 that was produced in the laboratory and zirconium oxide (ZrO2) that was produced using hydrothermal synthesis. RhB breakdown in the presence of sunshine was used to examine the photocatalytic efficiency of prepared samples. In comparison to pure g- C3N4 and ZrO2, the degrading performance of the ZrO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites is better. To identify the cause of the increased photocatalytic performance in ZrO2/g-C3N4 composites, all materials are analyzed. Characterization results revealed that ZrO2 particles were equally distributed across the layer of g-C3N4. The ZrO2/g-C3N4 composites successfully reduce electron-hole coupling and reduce charge transfer resistance when compared to both pure g- C3N4 and ZrO2. Additionally, it influences the bandgap and increases the absorbance of visible light. The study also found that the most active species in the catalytic process were .O2- and h+.