By Sakchai Kaewsubdejsiri
Year 2024
Abstract
This thesis investigated the enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency of manganese ferrite (MnFe[subscript2]O[subscript4]) by integrating it with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C[subscript3]N[subscript4]) for the degradation of organic dyes and pharmaceutical contaminants in synthetic wastewater. The MnFe[subscript2]O[subscript4]/g-C[subscrip3]N[subscript4] (MnFG) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal method and evaluated for their photocatalytic performance in degrading pollutants such as Indigo Carmine (IC), Reactive Black 5 (RB5), and Tetracycline (TC).
Comprehensive characterization of the photocatalysts was conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD) for phase analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for morphology and structural observations, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) for functional group identification, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for surface composition, ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) for optical properties, and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) for charge carrier dynamics.
The g-C[subscript3]N[subscript]-enhanced MnFG nanocomposites exhibited over 99% degradation efficiency for IC and RB5, and high efficiency for TC under visible light irradiation. TC kinetic analysis revealed that the degradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, indicating a strong correlation between composite composition and photocatalytic activity. These findings demonstrated the potential of MnFG nanocomposites for effective environmental remediation and provided a foundation for future research focused on optimizing composite design and elucidating underlying photocatalytic mechanisms.