Synthesis and Characterization of g-C₃N₄/α-Fe₂O₃ Composites with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

A novel composite photocatalyst g-C 3 N 4 /α-Fe 2 O 3 was prepared through calcination method. The photocatalysts were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The obtained g-C 3 N 4 /α-Fe 2 O 3 composites show high efficiency for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RHB). The optimum photocatalytic activity of g-C 3 N 4 /Fe 2 O 3 at a g-C 3 N 4 content of 8.6% under visible light irradiation is almost 4.8 times as high as that of pure α-Fe 2 O 3 . The enhancement in visible light photoactivity of g-C 3 N 4 /α-Fe 2 O 3 composites was attributed to the introduction of g-C 3 N 4 and the interaction between g-C 3 N 4 and α-Fe 2 O 3 .