Investigation on photocatalytic degradation of hazardous chloramphenicol drug and amaranth dye by SmVO4 decorated g-C3N4 nanocomposites

Abstract

In the present study, well designed visible light active SmVO4/g-C3N4 (SM/CN) nanocomposite was fabricated by the facile hydrothermal method without using any templates or surfactants. The phase structure, surface morphology, and optical property of as-prepared samples were characterized by various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques like XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, XPS, UV–Vis DRS, and EIS analysis. The photocatalytic activity of as-synthesized SM/CN nanocomposite was estimated for the removal of hazardous chloramphenicol (CP) drug and amaranth dye in aqueous solution under the irradiation of visible light. Fortunately, the UV–Visible spectroscopy studies revealed that the SM/CN nanocatalyst shows excellent photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of CP drug and amaranth dye with 94.35 and 99.11% efficiency respectively. The photocatalytic activity of SM/CN nanocatalyst was ascribed to the separation of photoinduced charge career. By employing trapping experiments using various scavengers the plausible mechanism of the photocatalytic activity of SM/CN nanocatalyst was proved. The present protocols findings open up a new platform for the metal-free g-C3N4 decorated photocatalyst for an efficient candidate for the removal of organic pollutants from the environment. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd