Low-cost and facile fabrication of recyclable and reusable waste-based geopolymer for visible-light photocatalysis degradation

The development of a cost-effective and highly reusable visible-light responsive photocatalyst is necessary for reducing the costs of contaminant photodegradation. In this study, a novel visible-light driven waste-based loaded-geopolymer photocatalyst was prepared by a facile method. CdS nanoparticles were successfully loaded in the geopolymer slice by geopolymerization, and the optimal proportions of raw materials (CdS, Fe2O3, drinking water treatment residual, granulated blast furnace slag) were determined. The results indicated that the waste-based geopolymer loaded with 4 wt% CdS achieved the best photocatalytic performance of organic dye in aqueous solution. Geopolymer slice provided an easily recyclable and reusable carrier for CdS nanoparticles in the photocatalytic process that efficiently separated the photogenerated charges. In this sample, the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and photocorrosion of CdS were reduced, which effectively enhanced the reusability of loaded geopolymer. Overall, this work presents an effective and facile method for the rapid fabrication of visible-light driven loaded photocatalyst and provides a strategy by which the recyclability of photocatalyst could be enhanced. [Display omitted]