Visible-Light Driven Z-scheme g-C₃N₄/Fe-MOF Photocatalyst for Degradation of Organic Pollutants

In the current study, g-C₃N₄/Fe-MOF was synthesised and utilised for the elimination of antibiotic contaminants from wastewater. There are two steps followed for the fabrication of g-C₃N₄/Fe-MOF i.e. pyrolysis and solvothermal method. The proximity of g-C₃N₄ and Fe-MOF was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of as-prepared samples. The developed photocatalyst was tested for tetracycline degradation. Remarkable photocatalytic activity for tetracycline under visible light irradiation is demonstrated by the g-C₃N₄/Fe-MOF photocatalyst. In comparison to bare g-C₃N₄ and Fe-MOF, the g-C₃N₄/Fe-MOF (G4) demonstrates significantly stronger photocatalytic activity. The best degradation efficiency of 87.12% was achieved at optimized reaction conditions with TC concenteration-25 ppm, catalyst dosage-40 mg and pH-5.5. The enhanced photocatalytic activity is because of the direct Z-scheme heterojunction formed between g-C₃N₄ & Fe-MOF, which allows for easier separation of photoinduced charge. The investigation also represented an analysis of the prevailing active species and potential photocatalytic mechanism. Finally, the study concludes that the optimized nanocomposite, consisting of g-C₃N₄/Fe-MOF, exhibited significant biocompatibility as seen by the development of barley seeds in the resultant solution after the degradation process.