DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v25i3.64

Keywords: Graphitic carbon nitride; iron oxide; methylene blue; C3N4/Fe3O4; photocatalyst; magnetic

Abstract

Magnetic composite of magnetite (Fe3O4) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), labeled as S4 and S5, respectively, were synthesized using a co-precipitation method starting from Fe2+ and Fe3+ salts and g-C3N4, which was obtained by different starting nitrogen-rich organic precursors; urea and mixture of melamine and urea by thermal polymerization. The composites were tested for methylene blue (MB) degradation in an aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The physicochemical properties of the composites were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, CHNS Analyzer, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance absorption spectra (UV-Vis DRS), and VSM. The magnetic composite S4 and S5 enable 68.9% and 90.9% degradation of MB within 5 hours, respectively. This study demonstrates that the photocatalytic methylene blue under visible light is approximately two times greater when a mixture of urea and melamine is used as the g-C3N4 precursor than urea alone. Furthermore, the composite's high saturation magnetization suggests that the photocatalyst can be easily separated from the treated solution using a magnetic field.