Fabrication of flower-like copper cobaltite/graphitic-carbon nitride (CuCo2O4/g-C3N4) composite with superior photocatalytic activity

Industrial discharge of synthetic dyes is one of the crucial environment issues need to be resolved. To develop efficient visible light driven photocatalyst, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and flower-like copper cobaltite (CuCo2O4) composites were fabricated for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye under simulated solar light irradiation. HRTEM result confirms the smart hybrid structure of CuCo2O4 and g-C3N4 were formed with superior distribution of g-C3N4 on the surface of petal-like CuCo2O4 structure. The photocatalytic results demonstrate that CuCo2O4/g-C3N4 (1:2) with H2O2 addition exhibits excellent photodegradation for MO dye (97%) with minimal time (60 min). The improved photocatalytic performances can be ascribed due to synergistic dispersion of porous CuCo2O4 (p-type) and g-C3N4 sheets (n-type) semiconductors provide enhanced visible light absorption with efficient separation of electrons-hole pairs. These new insight CuCo2O4/g-C3N4 based photocatalyst applicable for water splitting and treating industrial wastewater. (c) 2017 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.