Exfoliated gC3N4 supported CdS nanorods as a S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst for the degradation of various textile dyes

The quest to develop efficient photocatalysts in order to maintain a harmonious ecosystem by reducing water pollution from wastewater discharged from various industries is still in progress. Herein, we report a photocatalyst synthesized from exfoliated graphitic carbon nitride (gC₃N₄(ex)) and cadmium sulfide (CdS) which manifested excellent catalytic activity towards the degradation of various textile dyes in the presence of H₂O₂ (50CdS-50gC₃N₄(ex)). Under optimum reaction conditions, ～100 % degradation of some textile dyes such as Turq CL 5B, Red CL 5B, Yell CL 2R, Navy CLR, CB Sol Navy R, and Lanasol Black CE were observed in 10, 15, 30, 25, 30, and 15 min, respectively, when 50CdS-50gC₃N₄(ex) was used as the photocatalyst. This excellent photocatalytic efficiency of 50CdS-50gC₃N₄(ex) ascends from the establishment of synergy between nanorod-shaped CdS and exfoliated tubular-shaped gC₃N₄ due to their intimate concomitance in the nanocomposite. Moreover, the catalyst showed ～93 % catalytic efficiency as well as no change in the crystal structure or morphology after five catalytic cycles. Hence, this work puts forward a highly efficient environment-friendly, and reusable catalyst (50CdS-50gC₃N₄(ex)) which demonstrated its excellent potentiality to be utilized in the treatment of polluted effluents from textile industries under solar or blue LED irradiation.