Aqua-Mediated Hydrothermal Synthesis in the Production of a g- C3N4/TiO2Composite for Photocatalytic Degradation of RR4 Dye

• Published in: Malaysian Journal of Chemistry
• Main Author: Muhamad N.A.; Rosli M.A.; Hamzah S.R.; Ghani N.I.A.; Md Natar N.S.; Mohd Azami M.S.; Mohd Ishak M.A.; Sabar S.; Ismail W.I.N.W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malaysian Institute of Chemistry 2024
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85190848378&doi=10.55373%2fmjchem.v26i2.110&partnerID=40&md5=c7ab31fe4a0b5a3c9eb741330592a23f

The synthesis of a composite material comprising g-C3N4and TiO2was effectively achieved through successful sol-gel and hydrothermal techniques, utilizing water as the solvent. The fabrication process involved employing a titanium (IV) butoxide precursor for TiO2formation, while production of g-C3N4involved the thermal polymerization of urea. In comparison to both synthesized TiO2and g-C3N4, the g-C3N4/TiO2composite performed better under visible light irradiation where it showed outstanding photocatalytic activity using RR4 dye as a model pollutant. 5 % of g-C3N4composited into TiO2, denoted as TCN5, demonstrated superior performance, exhibiting an optimal rate constant (k) of 0.0920 min-1 when degrading 30 mg L-1RR4 dye within 1 hour under a 55 W fluorescent lamp. The degradation percentage increased to 99.73%, indicating an improvement that was twice that of TiO2and four times greater than that of g-C3N4alone. The synthesized g-C3N4/TiO2was further studied using a range of analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR), field- emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (FESEM-EDX), elemental mapping analysis, and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), to confirm its structural and optical properties. © 2024 Malaysian Institute of Chemistry. All rights reserved.