Codeposition of Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Sandwiched Between g-C3N4 and TiO2 Nanosheets: Structure, Characterization and High Photocatalytic Activity for Efficiently Degradation of Dye Pollutants

Novel ternary nanocomposite photocatalysts based on g-c3n4/fe3o4/tio2 nanosheet were synthesized using simple solid combustion, hydrothermal and wetness impregnation methods. the g-c3n4 nanosheet (2d)/ fe3o4/tio2 nanosheet (2d) triad-interface nanocomposite arranged in the form of fe3o4 nanoparticle was sandwiched and effectively dispersed on the surface between g-c3n4 and tio2 nanosheets. the synthesized composites were characterized by some specific techniques such as x-ray diffraction (xrd), fourier transform infrared (ft-ir) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electronic microscopy (fe-sem), transmission electron microscope (tem), vibrating sample magnetometer (vsm), specific surface area (ssa), and dynamic laser scattering (dls) analyzer. the effect of fe3o4 loading quantity on photocatalytic overall performance indicated that g-c3n4 nanosheets/fe3o4/tio2 nanosheets with 5% wt fe3o4 nanoparticle exhibit the best photocatalytic ability. these composites showed excellent activities in the uv-light-driven degradation of direct blue (db), methyl blue (mb) and safranin (sa). after irradiation for 210 min, the methylene blue (mb) degradation efficiency was 63% for g-c3n4, 58% for tio2, 71% for g-c3n4-tio2, 85% for g-c3n4-1% wt fe3o4-tio2, 96% for g-c3n4-5% wt fe3o4-tio2 and 77% for g-c3n4-10% wt fe3o4-tio2 indicating that nanocomposites with 5 wt% fe3o4 had the best photocatalytic performance. the ssa of the tio2, g-c3n4, g-c3n4-tio2 and g-c3n4-10% wt fe3o4-tio2 were determined using sear’s method. finally, it is worth mentioning that the surface area of the g-c3n4-10% wt fe3o4-tio2 photocatalyst has been found to be 66.2 m^2 g^-1.