An efficient and magnetically recoverable g-C3N4/ZnS/CoFe2O4 nanocomposite for sustainable photodegradation of organic dye under UV-visible light illumination

Effective improvement of an easily recoverable photocatalyst is equally vital to its photocatalytic performance from a practical application view. The magnetically recoverable process is one of the easiest ways, provided the photocatalyst is magnetically strong enough to respond to an external magnetic field. Herein, we prepared graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet (g-C3N4), and ZnS quantum dots (QDs) supported ferromagnetic CoFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) as the gC(3)N(4)/ZnS/CoFe2O4 nanohybrid photocatalyst by a wet-impregnation method. The loading of CoFe2O4 NPs in the g-C3N4/ZnS nanohybrid resulted in extended visible light absorption. The ferromagnetic g-C3N4/ZnS/CoFe2O4 nanohybrid exhibited better visible-light-active photocatalytic performance (97.11%) against methylene blue (MB) dye, and it was easily separable from the aqueous solution by an external bar magnet. The g-C3N4/ZnS/CoFe2O4 nanohybrid displayed excellent photostability and reusability after five consecutive cycles. The favourable band alignment and availability of a large number of active sites affected the better charge separation and enhanced photocatalytic response. The role of active species involved in the degradation of MB dye during photocatalyst by g-C3N4/ZnS/CoFe2O4 nanohybrid was also investigated. Overall, this study provides a facile method for design eco-friendly and promising g-C3N4/ZnS/CoFe2O4 nanohybrid photocatalyst as applicable in the eco-friendly dye degradation process.

Automated summary

In this study, a facile wet-impregnation method was used to prepare a graphene-like carbon nitride nanosheet/ZnS quantum dots/ferromagnetic CoFe2O4 nanoparticle nanohybrid photocatalyst with excellent separability and reusability. The nanohybrid exhibited superior visible-light-active photocatalytic performance, making it applicable in eco-friendly dye degradation processes.