Construction of novel hybrid Z-scheme Ag_x/WO₃@CdS decorated g-C₃N₄ heterojunction as composite photocatalyst for efficient degradation of organic dyes

Novel hybrid composite of Z-scheme of Ag_x/WO3@CdS decorated g-C₃N₄ heterojunction with adjusted morphology of Ag were facilely constructed via thermal-induced self-polymerization, then followed by sol-gel coprecipitation of Ag_x/WO₃@CdS decorated g-C₃N₄. The nanocomposites were characterized using instrumental characterizations, e.g., XRD, SEM, energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), HR-TEM with elemental mapping, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, and UV-DRS analyses. Results revealed that g-C₃N₄ and g-C₃N₄@WO₃@CdS NCs have better photocatalytic properties and stability. This observation was achieved through the addition of Ag to NCs. Under visible light irradiation, g-C₃N₄@1 %Ag/WO₃@CdS NCs outperformed the g-C₃N₄ sample in terms of photocatalytic activity, degrading 98.30 % (0.08539 min⁻¹) of Fluorescein (FS) and 95.36 % (0.0332 min⁻¹) of Congo Red (CR) at 50 and 70 min, respectively. Under the attack of active species like O₂^•− and ^•OH, the target pollutants can be oxidized deeply to harmless inorganic compounds.