Facile Fabrication of α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 Z Scheme Heterojunction for Novel Degradation of Residual Tetracycline

The α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 heterojunction was synthesized using a facile ultrasonic method using alpha hematite (α-Fe2O3) and graphitic carbon nitrite (g-C3N4) as precursors. These samples were characterized by advanced techniques such as SEM, EDX, XRD, PL and UV-Vis to investigate their morphology, elemental composition, crystalline structures and optical properties. Photocatalytic performance of these synthesized materials was investigated via degradation of tetracycline in the aqueous environment upon excitation of visible light. Obtained experimental results indicated that the synthesized α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 sample exhibited high photocatalytic activity for tetracycline degradation. The improvement in photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 was due to the Z-scheme mechanism, which effectively prevented electron-hole recombination or increased electron-hole separation efficiency for photocatalysis. The photocatalytic tetracycline degradation by the α-Fe2O3@g-C3N4 followed the pseudo first-order model. The optimized pH for its photocatalysis was found to be 8. Finally, the synthesized material exhibited high stability after five recycling cycles.