Worsening water contamination by organic pollutants, such as industrial dyes, mineral processing reagents, and medical antibiotics, calls for the design of efficient and inexpensive remediation technologies. Herein, a new ternary nanocomposite photocatalyst SnO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 /Dt was prepared by a simple hydrothermal method and calcination, exploiting the strong photocatalytic activity of SnO 2 and g-C 3 N 4 , and the structural dispersion ability of diatomite (Dt) to construct a stable heterojunction system. Characterization results indicated that a large specific surface area, optimized pore structure, and abundant active sites were obtained, while agglomeration of nanoparticles was effectively suppressed. Under simulated visible-light irradiation, the ternary composite exhibited a broad photocatalytic activity with degradation percentages of Methyl Orange (MO), Sodium Ethyl Xanthate (SEX), and Tetracycline Hydrochloride (TCH) of 94.29%, 99.63%, and 93.31% in 60 minutes - significantly better than its single and binary counterparts. The degradation process followed pseudo-first-order kinetic behavior, with degradation rates improved by 3.5-4.1 times compared to the pristine materials. Recycling experiments also demonstrated that the SnO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 /Dt nanocomposite exhibit excellent reusability as photocatalysts and hold significant potential for application in the treatment of industrial wastewater containing organic pollutants.
Hu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.