Synthesis of g-C3N4/ZnO nanocomposite for photocatalytic degradation of a refractory organic endocrine disrupter

g-C3N4/ZnO nanocomposite was successfully synthesized via co-precipitation method and its photocatalytic activity was evaluated in degradation of bisphenol A. The synthesized catalyst was characterized using various techniques such UV-Vis, XRD, BET, FESEM, EDS and HRTEM. FESEM images revealed the formation of ZnO nanospheres and g-C3N4 nanosheets. HRTEM images confirm the dispersion of ZnO nanospheres over g-C3N4 nanosheets without agglomeration. Maximum 93% degradation of bisphenol A was achieved using g-C3N4/ZnO nanocomposite in comparison to ZnO (78%) and g-C3N4 (83%) in the presence of UV light at pH 6.5. This might be due to the higher surface area of g-C3N4/ZnO (20 m(2)/g) in comparison to g-C3N4 (18.0 m(2)/g) and ZnO (12.2 m(2)/g). Degradation of bisphenol A follows the first-order kinetics. The synthesized nanocomposite is found to be an effective catalyst for the degradation of endocrine disrupters such as bisphenol A. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The g-C3N4/ZnO nanocomposite was synthesized successfully using the co-precipitation method, characterized by various techniques, and demonstrated excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of bisphenol A. The nanocomposite showed superior degradation efficiency compared to ZnO and g-C3N4 individually, attributed to its higher surface area.