Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet dye by the preparation of a novel ternary g-C3N4/TiO2/FeTiO3 nanocomposite

This article presents a hydrothermal approach for the preparation of a ternary g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 nanocomposite. XRD and FT-IR analysis confirm the successful synthesis of g-C 3 N 4 , TiO 2 , FeTiO 3 , and g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 nanocomposite. The morphological, elemental analysis, and optical properties of the samples were tested using FE-SEM, EDS, map, UV–vis DRS, EIS, and PL methods. The resulting g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 nanocomposite is systematically examined for its ability to photodegrade crystal violet (CV) dye via visible light-mediated photocatalysis. The g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 nanocomposite shown outstanding photocatalytic degradation percentage (99.18%) towards CV within 60 min of irradiation of visible light at pH 8, as compared to other samples, i.e., g-C 3 N 4 (26.21%), TiO 2 (18.11%), FeTiO 3 (22.09%), g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 (43.96%), g-C 3 N 4 /FeTiO 3 (38.29%), and TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 (32.15%) under similar reaction conditions. To examine the kinetics of the CV degradation process, the first-order kinetic model was employed, and the results demonstrated that the rate constant of g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 (0.0246 min -1 ) is higher than that of g-C 3 N 4 (0.0025 min -1 ), TiO 2 (0.0019 min -1 ), FeTiO 3 (0.0022 min -1 ), g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 (0.0047 min -1 ), g-C 3 N 4 /FeTiO 3 (0.0039 min -1 ), and TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 (0.0031 min -1 ). Also, the reusability of the g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 /FeTiO 3 photocatalyst was explored, and the results show high stability of the photocatalyst after 6 cycles. The trapping tests exhibited that the key active species in the degradation of CV were • OH and h + . According to the band structures of g-C 3 N 4 , TiO 2 , and FeTiO 3, a possible mechanism was proposed for the degradation of CV. The findings exhibited that hybridization of TiO 2 and FeTiO 3 nanoparticles with g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets greatly increased the photodegradation of water pollutants.