Synthesis of novel and environmental sustainable AgI-Ag₂S nanospheres impregnated g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst for efficient degradation of aqueous pollutants

In recent years, synthesis of environmentally sustainable novel photocatalyst materials is of interest to the researchers working in the wide range of applications, including environmental remediation. In the present work, we describe the synthesis of environmentally sustainable and reusable AgI-Ag₂S nanospheres impregnated graphitic carbon nitride (AgI-Ag₂S@g-C₃N₄) photocatalyst using the hydrothermal and pyrolysis methods. The as-synthesized AgI-Ag₂S@g-C₃N₄ (ACN) nanocomposite has been utilized for the degradation of organic pollutants in the aqueous solution. This current study confirms the highly active photocatalytic nature of ACN nanocomposite with a more comprehensive visible light absorption property. The ACN photocatalyst shows enhanced degradation efficiency towards Evans Blue (EB) and Congo red (CR) than that of other investigated materials such as g-C₃N₄ and AgI-Ag₂S. The photocatalytic degradation of EB and CR was studied using different wt% containing AgI-Ag₂S in ACN. The maximum degradation of EB and CR was achieved by 4 wt% and 2 wt% containing AgI-Ag₂S in ACN. The ACN-4 wt% and ACN-2 wt% photocatalyst can able to degrade 98.4 and 94.2% of EB and CR within 50 min and 30 min, respectively. The photoelectrochemical measurements of ACN confirmed its excellent charge separation and the interfacial charge transport resistance.