Improved Photocatalytic Activity of g-C3N4/ZnO: A PotentialDirect Z-Scheme Nanocomposite

In this study, a Z-scheme g-C3N4/ZnO nanocomposite was synthesized using exfoliation process, which was further characterized using XRD, FT-IR, UV-DRS, SEM-EDAX, PL, EIS, and TGA techniques. The properties of g-C(3)N(4)were enhanced when fabricated with ZnO resulting in a better electron mobility, high redox potential, and excellent semiconducting properties. The performance of this heterostructure was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of malachite green (MG) under visible light irradiation. The g-C3N4/ZnO heterostructure achieved a degradation of 84.3 % within 60 min under visible light irradiation. The degradation reaction follows a pseudo first-order kinetic model with a reaction rate constant of 0.0329 min(-1). The nanocomposite demonstrated outstanding stability and recyclability.