Abstract
Fabrication of visible-light-active heterojunction photocatalysts for organic pollutant degradation plays a crucial role in the environmental remediation field. We have fabricated sulfur-doped carbon nitride nanorod (SCNNR) by template free urea assisted hydrothermal method. The facile wet chemical impregnation method was used to deposit nickel ferrite (NFO) nanoparticles on the SCNNR. Various analytical characterization methods were used to study the structural, morphological, optical, and chemical compositions of the prepared photocatalysts. Strong chemical interaction between the NFO and SCNNR nanoparticles enhances the visible-light utilization and also improves the suppression of electron-hole recombination. In particular, the composite 20NFO/SCNNR photo catalyst exhibits greater photo-Fenton-like catalytic degradation of tetracycline (TCN) in the presence of H2O2 under commercial LED light irradiation. The photo-Fenton reaction mechanism and reactive oxygen species for TCN degradation were investigated by the elemental trapping experiment. Moreover, the recycle test proves that the prepared composite photocatalyst is an efficient candidate for environmental remediation applications.