Influence of g-C3N4 and PANI onto WO3 photocatalyst on the photocatalytic degradation of POME

• Main Authors: Mohd. Razali, Nur Aqilah, Wan Salleh, Wan Norharyati, Aziz, Farhana, Lau, Woei Jye, Yusof, Norhaniza, Jaafar, Juhana, Ismail, Ahmad Fauzi
• Format: Article
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2022
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/101193/; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.04.118

Presently, the blossoming interest for efficient photocatalytic degradation has come to fruition, which is a promising candidate towards clean energy and a sustainable environment. Introducing doping factor is a great strategy to promote photocatalytic performance of catalysts. For a more effective boost of Aeration-POME (Ae-POME) degradation and efficient photocatalytic visible light absorption, the tungsten trioxide (WO3) was wrapped on graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4), and the polyaniline (PANI) were prepared using a facile method. The binary photocatalysts was characterized by zeta potential and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). As anticipated, WO3/g-C3N4 and WO3/PANI showed excellent catalytic and photocatalytic performance of the color and COD removal of Ae-POME. The WO3/g-C3N4 composite removed color and COD at approximately 30% and 37% of POME, respectively, as compared to WO3/PANI in the absence of light, where less than 30% of color were removed under visible light irradiation and energy storage scheme. In addition, the FTIR studies support the discussions on the effect of doping on POME photocatalytic activity. The significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance is attributed to the synergetic effect of g-C3N4 and PANI, which can create the internal driving force to improve the separation efficiency of charge carriers in WO3. This doping method and the energy storage principle will provide a valuable strategy for the development of a feasible photocatalyst with specific unique structures.