Thermal exfoliation-deposition method for morphology-controlled fabrication of 2D-g-C3N4/CuO heterojunctions: efficient photocatalytic degradation of carbendazim and methylene blue

초록

A facile and scalable thermal exfoliation-deposition method was developed to synthesize 2D g-C3N4/CuO heterojunction photocatalysts with controlled morphology. By tuning the g-C3N4 loading, the carbon nitride morphology transitions from dispersed two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets to bulk-like three-dimensional (3D) structures, which significantly influences the optical properties and photocatalytic performance of the composites. The photocatalysts were evaluated under solar irradiation for the degradation of carbendazim (CBZ) and methylene blue (MB). The g-C3N4/CuO composites exhibited significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to individual g-C3N4 and CuO, due to efficient charge separation at the heterojunction. Optimal photocatalytic performance was achieved at 15% g-C3N4 loading, achieving up to 98% degradation of CBZ and MB within 80 min. Radical scavenging experiments identified superoxide radicals (O2 center dot(-)) as the primary reactive species. The 15% g-C3N4/CuO composite also showed excellent stability over multiple cycles. These results highligh the importance of interfacial engineering and compositional optimization for efficient, durable, and scalable solar-driven photocatalysts.

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