Construction of heterostructured CuFe2O4/g-C3N4 nanocomposite as an efficient visible light photocatalyst with peroxydisulfate for the organic oxidation

A copper ferrite modified graphitic carbon nitride (CuFe2O4/g-C3N4) nanocomposite was successfully synthesized for the utilization as a visible-light responsive photocatalyst. The as-synthesized catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-vis/DRS), photoluminescence (PL) analysis, and an electrochemical workstation. Compared to g-C3N4 and CuFe2O4, the CuFe2O4/g-C3N4 composites possessed excellent photocatalytic performance for the destruction of propranolol (PRO). A removal efficiency of 82.2% was achieved with 1 g/L catalyst and 1 mM peroxydisulfate (PDS) under visible light irradiation (lambda < 420 nm) within 120 min. The g-C3N4 coupled with CuFe2O4 improved the capacity for visible light capture, whereas the presence of PDS enhanced the transfer of photogenerated electron. Quenching experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) suggested that the reactive oxygen species (ROS) were superoxide radicals (O-2(center dot-)), h(+), hydroxyl radicals ((OH)-O-center dot), and sulfate radicals (SO4 center dot-). Moreover, the byproducts of PRO were investigated by HPLC-MS/MS, and the transformation pathways under the Vis/g-C3N4/CuFe2O4/PDS process were tentatively proposed based on the intermediates. The research provided a potential approach of CuFe2O4 modified g-C3N4 as a photocatalyst combined with PDS for the treatment of contaminated water.