Evaluation of polymeric g-C3N4 contained nonhierarchical ZnV2O6 composite for energy-efficient LED assisted photocatalytic mineralization of organic pollutant

The present work demonstrates the unique construction of polymeric graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) contained nonhierarchical zinc-vanadium oxide (ZnV2O6) composite for light-emitting diode (LED) aided photocatalytic degradation of an organic pollutant, tetracycline hydrochloride (TC). The g-C3N4 was prepared by pyrolysis of urea whereas ZnV2O6 and 1:1 (ZnV2O6/g-C3N4) composite were prepared by hydrothermal process. The as-synthesized catalysts were subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, UV–Visible spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) to unravel the physical, chemical, and photo-intrinsic characteristics. The 1:1 (ZnV2O6/g-C3N4) composite exhibited the maximum TC degradation (87.2%) over the individual components. The systematic investigations revealed that 20 mg of 1:1 (ZnV2O6/g-C3N4) catalyst was optimum to degrade 20 mg/L of TC with 9 W of LED irradiation up to 125 min. The 1:1 composite retained its catalytic efficiency for three consecutive runs that mark its on-site application. The as-proposed system for TC degradation is exclusive for the fabrication of electronically compatible composite that results in delayed recombination of photo-charges and promotes rapid electron migration within the composite, thereby accelerating the photodegradation.