Investigation of the photocatalytic and optical properties of the SrMoO4/g-C3N4 heterostructure obtained via sonochemical synthesis with temperature control

In this work, nanomaterials of the SrMoO4/g-C3N4 heterostructure were synthesized in a single step by the sonochemical method with controlled temperatures. Structural and morphological investigations indicate the formation of heterojunctions, revealing the presence of g-C3N4 (CN) in the heterostructures and an interface region between the phases. Optical analyzes show broadening of the wavelength absorption range and a decrease in the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of the heterojunctions compared to the CN emission spectrum, proving a decrease in the recombination of the photogenerated charges. The results of the photocatalytic tests indicate that the insertion of CN promoted photocatalytic degradation of the Methylene Blue (MB), Rhodamine B (RhB) and Crystal Violet (CV) organic contaminants, up to 99.58%, 100% and 98.65%, respectively. The mixture of dyes used and reuse cycles was performed to analyze the applicability of the compounds in a real situation. [Display omitted] •SrMoO4/g-C3N4 heterostructures synthesized by sonochemical method.•Temperature control in sonochemistry is effective for single-step powder formation.•Direct Z-type heterojunction promotes effective separation of eletronic pair e−/h+.•SrMoO4/g-C3N4 has excellent performance in degrading many cationic dyes.•SrMoO4/g-C3N4 degrades dye mixtures maintaining its stability after reuse cycles.