Investigation of Ce2(WO4)3/g-C3N4 nanocomposite for degradation of industrial pollutants through sunlight-driven photocatalysis

A repertoire of materials has been under development for photocatalytic degradation of the ever-increasing industrial pollutants and Cerium tungstate can be one of them as its band gap lies in the semiconducting region. Despite being sunlight utilizing photocatalytic materials, Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 needs improvement on its photocatalytic characteristics which can be achieved by the formation of the carbon-nitride composite. The Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 /g-C 3 N 4 photocatalyst has been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method at different weight proportions. The results of XRD and FTIR ascertain the formation of the Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 /g-C 3 N 4 composite. The surface area of Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 was enhanced upon the nanocomposite formation by the support of g-C 3 N 4 . For g-C 3 N 4 , Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 and Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 /g-C 3 N 4 , the dye degradation characteristics were investigated and their kinetics were analyzed. The Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 /g-C 3 N 4 photocatalyst displayed a degradation of methylene blue by 97.5% and xylenol orange by 85% in 75 min under solar light radiation showing an appreciable improvement in its photocatalytic activity. Further, the rate constant of Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 /g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposite improves photocatalytic activity quintupled for methylene blue and tripled for xylenol orange compared to pure Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 . The photocatalytic mechanism illustrates the electron–hole transfer between g-C 3 N 4 and Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 in the Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 /g-C 3 N 4 composite. The enhanced photocatalytic activity was achieved via photo-induced charge carrier generation, reduced recombination rate and large surface area for efficient exchange of electron transfer in Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 /g-C 3 N 4 composite. The holes, hydroxide and anion radicals played as active species in the photocatalytic degradation of dyes. Furthermore, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of methylene blue and xylenol orange showed remarkable reusability and stability in subsequent experiments. Thus, Ce 2 (WO 4 ) 3 /g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposite can be a preferred choice of materials for the treatment of industrial effluents as a consequence of its high photocatalytic activity.