Concurrent Exfoliation and Controlled Coating of 2D-g-C3N4 Over 3DCe2(WO4)3 for Proficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Amitrole and Chlorpyrifos

In this study, we introduce a facile grind-heat fusion technique, which enables the thermal exfoliation and simultaneous deposition of g-C₃N₄ onto the surface of Ce₂(WO₄)₃ in a single-step process. This technique leverages the strong interaction between g-C₃N₄ (CN) and Ce₂(WO₄)₃ (CT), facilitating the adjustment of carbon nitride loadings to achieve coating onto the surfaces of cerium tungstate particles. The resulting catalysts exhibit excellent photocatalytic performance in the decomposition of Amitrole (herbicide) and Chlorpyriphos (insecticide) under sunlight irradiation. Notably, the degradation performance reaches its maximum when the carbon nitride loading reaches at a 12 wt% on CT. Scavenger studies conducted reveal that superoxide radicals play a key role in the photocatalytic degradation process. Moreover, we propose a plausible S-scheme mechanism to elucidate the photocatalytic reaction pathway and charge transfer dynamics within the CN/CT heterojunction. Furthermore, our investigation extends to the recyclability of the 12% g-CN/CT sample, which demonstrates promising recycling performances with 85% and 83% conversions after the 7th run towards Amitrole and Chlorpyriphos, respectively. These results underscore the potential of our heterojunction photocatalysts for practical applications in environmental remediation and wastewater treatment. Graphical Abstract