High interfacial charge separation in visible-light active Z- scheme g-C3N4/MoS2 heterojunction: Mechanism and degradation of sulfasalazine

Gaurav Sharma, Mu Naushad, Zeid A. ALOthman, Jibran Iqbal, Chinna Bathula

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Examination of highly proficient photoactive materials for the degradation of antibiotics from the aqueous solution is the need of the hour. In the present study, a 2D/2D binary junction GCM, formed between graphitic-carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), was synthesized using facile hydrothermal method and its photo-efficacy was tested for the degradation of sulfasalazine (SUL) from aqueous solution under visible-light irradiation. Morphological analysis indicated the nanosheets arrangement of MoS2 and g-C3N4. The visible-light driven experiments indicated that 97% antibiotic was degraded by GCM-30% within 90 min which was found to be quite high than pristine g-C3N4 and MoS2 at solution pH of 6, GCM-30% dose of 20 mg, and SUL concentration of 20 mgL−1. The degradation performance of GCM-30% was selectively improved due to enhanced visible-light absorption, high charge carrier separation, and high redox ability of the photogenerated charges which was induced by the effective Z-scheme 2D/2D heterojunction formed between g-C3N4 and MoS2. The reactive radicals as determined by the scavenging study were •O2, and h+. A detailed degradation mechanism of SUL by GCM-30% was also predicted based on the detailed examination of the band gaps of g-C3N4 and MoS2.

Original languageEnglish
Article number136162
JournalChemosphere
Volume308
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2022

Keywords

  • 2D
  • Binary heterojunction
  • G-CN
  • Photodegradation
  • Sulfasalazine
  • Wastewater treatment

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