Photocatalytic Degradation and Antibacterial Properties of Fe³⁺-Doped Alkalized Carbon Nitride

• Main Authors: Ying Gao, Jizhou Duan, Xiaofan Zhai, Fang Guan, Xiutong Wang, Jie Zhang, Baorong Hou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: Nanomaterials
• Subjects: g-C₃N₄; alkalization; Fe³⁺-doping; Rhodamine B degradation; antibacterial property
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/10/9/1751

Discovering novel materials and improving the properties of existing materials are the main goals in the field of photocatalysis to increase the potential application of the materials. In this paper, a modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) photocatalyst named Fe³⁺-doped alkalized carbon nitride, which couples the photocatalytic reaction with the Fenton reaction, is introduced to demonstrate its Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation and antibacterial properties. Under visible-light irradiation, the degradation rate of RhB was 99.9% after 200 min, while the antibacterial rates of <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> (<i>P. aeruginosa</i>), <i>Escherichia coli</i> (<i>E. coli</i>), and <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (<i>S. aureus</i>) after 300 min were 99.9986%, 99.9974%, and 99.9876%, respectively. Moreover, the repetitive experiments of RhB degradation demonstrate that the proposed photocatalysts have excellent stability and reusability. The active free radical trapping experiments reveal that the superoxide radical (<inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>·</mo><msubsup><mi mathvariant="normal">O</mi><mn>2</mn><mo>−</mo></msubsup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) is the dominant reactive oxygen species. In addition, the Fenton reaction is introduced into the photocatalytic system due to the doping of Fe³⁺, and the hydroxyl radical (·OH) produced from the Fenton reaction further enhances the photocatalytic performance. The remarkable improvement in photocatalytic performance of the proposed photocatalyst can be attributed to its broader UV–visible absorption characteristic and the occurrence of the Fenton reaction.