Publication
Advanced Redox Technology Lab
Publication
Advanced Redox Technology Lab
Journal papers
Anthraquinone-anchored graphitic carbon nitride (denoted as g-C3N4-AQ), which has been reported in the photochemical production of H2O2, demonstrated significant visible light photocatalytic activity with Fe(III) for the degradation of organic compounds. The synthesized g-C3N4-AQ exhibited a light absorption spectrum and crystallinity comparable to that of pristine g-C3N4. FT-IR and XPS analyses confirmed the covalent bonding between AQ and g-C3N4. The synthesized g-C3N4-AQ generated 12 μM of H2O2 within 2 h under visible light illumination, a quantity negligible for the degradation of organic compounds. However, in the combination with Fe(III), the system successfully degraded organic compounds, achieving degradation of 88 – 99 % in the presence of dissolved oxygen. It was also observed that the photochemical activity of g-C3N4-AQ/Fe(III) was non-selective towards the target organic compounds. Intriguingly, the visible light-illuminated g-C3N4-AQ/Fe(III) selectively degraded target organic compounds in the absence of dissolved oxygen. Experimental work employing reactive oxidant scavengers and oxidant probes revealed that •OH is the main reactive species responsible for the degradation of organic compounds in the presence of dissolved oxygen, whereas in its absence, the hole acts as the primary oxidant in the selective degradation of organic compounds. This finding provides important insights into the application of the g-C3N4-AQ/Fe(III) system for effective micropollutant removal.