Title : Heterojunction photocatalysts comprising Z-Scheme magnetic nanocomposites are investigated for their efficacy in degrading organic pollutants and dynamic molecular studies
Abstract:
In this investigation, we successfully synthesized a Z-scheme nanocomposite of heterostructures utilizing a co-precipitation method. Various characterization techniques were employed to analyze the nanocomposite, revealing the presence of Fe3O4, Ag3PO4, and g-C3N4 nanoparticles occupying the surface of sepiolite. Notably, the photocatalytic efficacy of the g-C3N4/Fe3O4/Ag3PO4@Sep nanocomposite surpassed that of pure g-C3N4, g-C3N4 @Sep, and g-C3N4/Ag3PO4@Sep counterparts. This enhancement in photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the synergistic effects of constructing a Z-scheme heterojunction, which facilitates improved light utilization and accelerated charge carrier migration. Furthermore, the nanocomposite demonstrated commendable stability and reusability even after undergoing four cycles, a finding corroborated by molecular dynamics (MD) calculations. Employing DFT-D correction, we optimized all structures, while the investigation of MG adsorption using the adsorption locator module suggested the system's thermodynamic stability.
Keywords: Z-scheme; Nanocomposite; Malachite green; MD calculation.
