MOF-derived ZnO/g-C₃N₄ nanophotocatalyst for efficient degradation of organic pollutant

With the use of facile single-step calcination of Zinc glutamate MOF and melamine, highly efficient ZnO/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposite was prepared and utilized in photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB), an organic pollutant. The composite’s morphology, crystallinity, optical properties, and composition were determined using several analytical techniques, which include scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The degradation of RhB over the optimized 1.0%ZnO/g-C₃N₄ composite is ∼1.77 fold higher compared to the pure g-C₃N₄ under identical conditions. The synergistic interfacial interaction between g-C₃N₄ and MOF derived ZnO remarkably improved the electron-hole pairs separation, which led to the exceptionally high photocatalytic activity of the composite photocatalysts. Based on the radical scavenger tests and ESR analysis, it is confirmed that •O₂⁻ as the dominant active specie facilitated the degradation of RhB over the as-prepared ZnO/g-C₃N₄ composites. This work will open up new insights for further research on g-C₃N₄ based composite materials.