| Bandgap modulation and charge separation in sulfur-doped g-C3N4/ZnMn2O4 nano-composites for efficient visible-light photocatalysis |
Asma Ramzan1, Ismat Bibi1, Farzana Majid2, Shazia Nouren3, Babar Taj1, Aamir Ghafoor1, Qasim Raza1, Norah Alwadai4, Arif Nazir5, Munawar Iqbal6
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1Institute of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan
2Department of Physics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
3Department of Chemistry, Government College Women University, Sialkot, Pakistan
4Department of Physics, College of Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, 11671, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
5Department of Chemistry, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
6School of Chemistry, University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan |
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Received: February 2, 2025; Revised: April 19, 2025 Accepted: May 2, 2025. Published online: May 29, 2025. |
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| ABSTRACT |
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Sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride (S-gCN) nanocomposite with ZnMn2O4 (ZMO) was prepared by co-precipitation and via an ultra-sonication route and ferroelectric, optical and photo-catalytic properties were compared with ZMO@S-gCN 1–4 nanocomposites. P-E loops revealed high coercivity and saturation polarization values for the ZMO@S-gCN-4 nanocomposite. A decline in PL intensity was observed with a reduction in bandgap from 3.18 eV (ZMO) to 2.57 eV in ZMO@S-gCN-4 indicating reduced e-/h+ pair recombination rate with improved photo-catalytic performance. The ZMO@S-gCN-4 nanocomposite furnished significantly higher degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye (91.05%), which was recorded to be 59.26% and 78.31% in the case of ZMO and S-gCN within 90 min of irradiation under visible light with rate constants of 0.02587 min-1, 0.00914 min-1 and 0.01670 min-1, respectively. The effects of the concentration of dye, catalyst dosage and pH on photo-catalytic degradation of MO dye were also evaluated. The ZMO@S-gCN-4 showed promising recyclability and usability up to five cycles. Furthermore, the scavenging experiment revealed that the reactive species (−·O2) have a major role in the photo-degradation of MO dye. Based on the photocatalytic efficiency of ZMO@S-gCN-4 under solar light, it has potential applications for harvesting visible light for wastewater treatment. |
| Key words:
Graphitic carbon nitride · Sulfur doping · Zinc manganite · Nanocomposite · Methyl orange · Photodegradation · Visible-light irradiation |
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