Synthesis of g-C3N4/ZnO composite with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity
Abstract
ZnO/g-C 3 N 4 composite material was successfully synthesized using a facile calcination method with g-C 3 N 4 and zinc acetate hexahydrate as the precursors. The morphology, crystallinity, optical properties, and chemical bond characteristics of the synthesized composite were characterized by using various analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS). The material's photocatalytic performance was evaluated through the decomposition of rhodamine B (RhB) solution under visible light. The results show that the photocatalytic properties of composite materials decomposing RhB dye solution are higher than those of single materials ZnO, g-C 3 N 4 with a decomposition reaction rate constant of 0.0243 min -1 , more than twice as fast compared to pure g-C 3 N 4 (0.0091 min -1 ).