Nguyen Dac Dien, Vu Xuan Hoa, Pham Thi Thu Ha, Tran Thu Trang, Lai Tong Anh Kiet, Vibhawari Dhoble, Nguyen Duc Toan, Tran Thi Huong Giang, Nguyen Thi Luyen, Pham Van Hai, Pham Thi Nga

Main Article Content

Abstract

Water pollution caused by Rhodamine B (RhB) underscores the need for efficient photocatalytic degradation methods. In this study, g-C3N4 nanosheets were synthesized via a one-pot thermal polymerization method, with a constant melamine amount and varying NH4Cl content. The obtained g-C3N4 nanosheets exhibited the lateral size of around 0.5 × 2.5 µm and the thickness of about 6-8 nm. g-C3N4 catalysts exhibited high efficiency in the degradation of RhB under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation (365 nm). Within 60 min, RhB degradation reached ~ 99.767% with a rate constant (k) ~ 0.114 min-1. Based on the analytical results, a possible mechanism of photocatalytic degradation was proposed. Its superior performance stems from its numerous active sites and improved surface area, which promoted charge transfer and enhanced redox species generation. Superoxide () and hydroxyl () radicals are the effective agents for photodegrading RhB. This work demonstrates that g-C3N4 nanosheets function as an efficient photocatalyst for removing organic pollutants from wastewater.

Keywords: g-C3N4, RhB, photocatalyst, UV irradiation

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