Photocatalytic removal of Pb ions from aqueous solution using Fe2O3 doped in G-C3N4 nanocomposite under visible light

Abstract

A pyrolysis technique of urea and dicyandiamide in an air atmosphere was used to prepare graphitic carbon nitride, and a modified precipitation technique was used to prepare Fe 2 O 3 doped on g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposites. Different techniques, such as UV-Vis, XPS, FT-IR, XRD, PL and BET surface area, were used to characterize the prepared materials. The results reveal that the wt% of Fe 2 O 3 plays an important role in the control band gap of Fe 2 O 3 doped on g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposite. The photocatalytic performance of g-C 3 N 4 and Fe 2 O 3 doped on g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposites was studied by measuring its photocatalytic reduction of Pb ions under visible light. Photocatalytic parameters such as the wt% of Fe 2 O 3 , photocatalyst dose and Pb ion concentration were also studied. The photocatalytic activity of doped on g-C 3 N 4 is smaller than that of Fe 2 O 3 doped on g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposites. This can be attributed to the fact that the addition of Fe 2 O 3 to doped on g-C 3 N 4 decreases the electron-hole recombination rate and shifts the absorption of pg-C 3 N 4 to a higher wavelength or alternatively due to the transfer of electrons between doped on g-C 3 N 4 and Fe 2 O 3 .