GCN/CuFe2O4/SiO2 photocatalyst for photo-Fenton assisted degradation of organic dyes

Using a facile hydrothermal synthesis approach hybrid ferrite composites were fabricated, and characterized via FTIR, XRD, XPS, SEM with elemental mapping, TEM, BET UV–vis DRS, and PL studies. The photodegradation ability of the synthesized bare and GCN/CuFe2O4/SiO2 nanocomposites (with different wt.% of GCN) was inspected against toxic dyes viz. MO and RhB beneath visible light illumination. Photo-Fenton assisted S-scheme GCN/CuFe2O4/SiO2 nanocomposite with 10% loading of GCN ((10%)GCN/CuFe2O4/SiO2) demonstrated much-enhanced photoactivity compared to bare CuFe2O4 and GCN. Similarly, the addition of H2O2 in photocatalytic reactions has increased the production rate of .OH radicals which ultimately has increased the MO and RhB degradation rate. Photocatalytic studies also validated that all fabricated composites followed pseudo-first order kinetics. For hybrid composite with 10% loading of GCN, the MO degradation rate was found about 4.82 times and 6.14 times higher than pristine CuFe2O4 and GCN samples while for RhB, degradation rate was 5.31 times and 7.02 times greater. The enhanced photocatalytic activity was credited to the S-scheme heterostructure which extended visible light adsorption, minimized photocarriers recombination rate, and provided high redox capability of further photocatalytic reaction in heterostructure (10%)GCN/CuFe2O4/SiO2. PL and EIS analysis validated enhanced charge separation and migration in (10%)GCN/CuFe2O4/SiO2. Fabricated hybrid ferrite composite also revealed strong chemical stability even after 10 cycles. Radical trapping and ESR experiments validated that generated e−, ∙OH, h+ and ∙O2− proficiently played a main role in the photodegradation process.