Effective coupling of BiPO4/g-C3N4 hybrid composites in ciprofloxacin photodegradation

• Published in: Research on chemical intermediates 2019-07, Vol.45 (7), p.3865-3878
• Main Authors: Navarro-Aguilar, A. I., Obregón, S., Hernández-Uresti, D. B., Suárez-de la Cruz, J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibiotics; Aqueous solutions; Carbon nitride; Catalysis; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Current carriers; Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy; Fourier transforms; Hybrid composites; Inorganic Chemistry; Organic carbon; Oxidation; Performance degradation; Photocatalysis; Photodegradation; Physical Chemistry; Pollutants; Scanning electron microscopy; Spectrum analysis; X ray powder diffraction
• ISSN: 0922-6168; 1568-5675
• DOI: 10.1007/s11164-019-03825-0

A BiPO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 photoactive system has been prepared by means of a practical ultrasound-assisted procedure in aqueous medium. The obtained hybrid composites were widely characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and N 2 adsorption–desorption measurements. The photocatalytic features of the samples were examined through the degradation of orange G dye and ciprofloxacin antibiotic, where the higher photocatalytic performance for the degradation of both pollutants was achieved for the g-C 3 N 4 with 1 wt% loading of BiPO 4 (1-BiPO 4 sample). To explain this outstanding performance, a possible mechanism involving the delocalization of the photogenerated charge carriers in the BiPO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 system is discussed. Also, total organic carbon analysis and photocatalytic tests with radical scavengers were performed to elucidate the importance of the reactive oxidizing species during the photocatalytic process.