A magnetically recoverable bimetallic Au-FeNPs decorated on g-C3N4 for efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants

A magnetically recoverable Au-FeNPs/g-C3N4 nanocomposite has been successfully synthesized via a facile and economical green method. The obtained nanocomposite were characterized by XRD, FTIR, UV-DRS, TEM and EDS analysis. The photocatalytic performance of the prepared nanocomposite was evaluated for the degradation of carcinogenic cationic dye molecules namely malachite green (MG) and rhodamine B (RhB) beneath visible light irradiation. The nanocomposite shows tremendous photocatalytic activity with >99% within 45 min which is credited to the high surface area, strong synergistic effect of Au-FeNPs and g-C3N4. Interestingly, magnetically recovered Au-FeNPs/g-C3N4 photocatalyst can degrade the dyes efficiently up to five cycles. Therefore, the present investigation focuses the development of highly efficient magnetic bimetallic based nanocomposite for effective degradation of various organic contaminants. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.