Solar light-driven reduction of crystal violet by a composite of g-C3N4, β-Ag2Se, γ-Fe2O3 and graphite

In this work, a new g-C3N4-based Z-scheme with γ-Fe2O3 and β-Ag2Se both n-type semiconductors, and graphite to favor electron exchange is presented. The composite material was studied by XRD, FTIR, UV-Vis, TEM, XPS, TGA, DSC and TOF-SIMS, and the ability of this photocatalytic system to act as a photo-reductant was assessed using crystal violet (CV+) dye. Solar light driven photo-reduction of CV+ in the presence of tri-sodium citrate evidenced a synergistic enhancement of the activity of the composite toward reduction, with ∼20 times higher conversion rates per unit of surface area than those of g-C3N4. Photo-oxidation experiments under Xe lamp irradiation in the presence of H2O2 also showed that the AgFeCN composite featured a higher activity (∼8×) than g-C3N4. This Z-scheme may deserve further study as a photo-reductant to obtain hydrogen or hydrogenated compounds. Moreover, the use of CV+ may represent a facile procedure that can aid in the selection of new photocatalysts to be used in hydrogen production.