Immobilization of Iron Phthalocyanine on carbon nitride support for visible light driven dye degradation: Experimental investigation integrated with DFT study

Iron phthalocyanine (FePc) nanostructure immobilized upon graphitic carbon nitride (gCN) support by in-situ solvothermal method is reported. The FePc-gCN nanocomposite exhibited promising photocatalytic activity for the removal of several pollutant dyes under visible radiation, measuring removal efficiency of 81 % for Methylene Blue in three cycles. The successful integration of gCN onto FePc and synergistic interaction between them have been established through different characterization techniques. By combining optical, photochemical measurements with density functional theory (DFT), we discuss the underlying degradation mechanism and present deeper insights into catalyst's performance. DFT calculation predicted a built in potential (ca. 21.7 eV) at the interface of FePc-gCN heterostructure, which help prohibits charge recombination and promotes easy charge transportation through gCN architecture. The suppression of charge carrier recombination in FePc-gCN heterostructure was also confirmed through photoluminescense spectroscopy. Bader charge analysis indicated a net charge of |0.15e| was transferred from FePc to gCN layer in the composite.

Automated summary

This study reports the immobilization of Iron phthalocyanine (FePc) nanostructure onto a graphitic carbon nitride (gCN) support using an in-situ solvothermal method. The resulting FePc-gCN nanocomposite exhibits promising photocatalytic activity for the removal of various pollutant dyes under visible radiation. The successful integration of gCN onto FePc and the synergistic interaction between them have been confirmed through different characterization techniques, providing deeper insights into the degradation mechanism and catalyst's performance.