Efficient photodegradation of organic dyes from industrial wastewater using novel Ni-decorated g-C₃N₄-TiO₂ photocatalysts

Industrial wastewater has detrimental impacts on aquatic ecosystems and the environment. Among the significant contributors to water pollution are organic dyes, which are frequently released into untreated outflow water. Hence, effective degradation of these dyes and their derivatives using heterogeneous photocatalysts is imperative before discharge. In this study, we successfully synthesized a novel nanocomposite by g-C₃N₄ coupled with TiO₂ and decorated it with Ni followed by cost-effective methods. Immaculate g-C₃N₄ coupled with TiO₂ (TiO₂+) and modified with nickel (Ni+) was synthesized through melamine calcination followed by hydrothermal processing. Characterization through diverse electro-analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), was conducted on the novel photocatalysts. XRD results revealed their high crystallinity, enhanced through modification. The effectiveness of these photocatalysts in degrading the organic dye methylene blue (MB) under UV–Vis light was thoroughly investigated. It also investigated how the results were affected by important factors involving contact time, dye and photocatalyst dosages, pH, and reusability. Among the photocatalysts, the composite g-C₃N₄-TiO₂s, decorated with Ni, exhibited exceptional performance, displaying substantial degradation efficacy. The findings demonstrate that the novel g-C₃N₄-based photocatalysts are highly efficient at degrading organic dyes, so the work is expected to be the best contribution in the photodegradation study of organic contaminants.