Composition-Dependent Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic Properties of Silver-Decorated Cobalt Ferrite/Graphitic Carbon Nitride Heterostructures for Enhanced Phenol Degradation
5 affiliations
- 1P.G and Research, Department of Physics, Presidency College, Chennai 600005, Tamil Nadu, India
- 2Carbon-Hydrogen Energy Materials Laboratory, Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu, India
- 3Khalifa University Space Technology & Innovation Laboratory (KUSTIL), Department of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi 127788, United Arab Emirates
- 4Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi 127788, United Arab Emirates
- 5University Centre for Research and Development (UCRD), Chandigarh University, Mohali 140413, Punjab, India
Abstract
Efficient regulation of interfacial charge transfer through composition tuning is crucial for developing high-performance visible-light photocatalysts. In this study, the weight ratio of Ag–CoFe2O4 to g-C3N4 was systematically tuned (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, and 25:75 wt.%) to elucidate composition-dependent optical and interfacial properties and optimize photocatalytic degradation of phenol. The resulting heterostructures consisted of Ag-containing CoFe2O4 nanoparticles intimately integrated with two-dimensional g-C3N4, generating well-defined interfaces for charge-carrier migration. Among the investigated compositions, the 50:50 wt.% Ag–CoFe2O4/g-C3N4 heterostructure exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity, achieving approximately 60% phenol removal within 10 min, >90% within 20 min, and nearly 100% within 30 min. Further optimization revealed an optimum catalyst dosage of 10 mg, which achieved complete phenol removal within approximately 15 min, while 15% H2O2 accelerated complete removal to approximately 10 min. The superior performance of the optimized 50:50 wt.% composition is attributed to a favorable balance between visible-light harvesting, heterointerfacial contact, accessible reactive sites, and efficient charge separation and migration, together with Ag-mediated plasmonic effects and Co/Fe-mediated H2O2 activation for reactive oxygen species generation. The optimized heterostructure also demonstrated good recyclability, retaining approximately 97% phenol removal in the later cycles. These findings demonstrate that tuning the Ag–CoFe2O4:g-C3N4 weight ratio provides an effective strategy for engineering interfacial charge transfer and maximizing photocatalytic performance for industrial wastewater treatment.
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BibTeX
@article{p2026compositiondependent,
title = {{Composition-Dependent Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic Properties of Silver-Decorated Cobalt Ferrite/Graphitic Carbon Nitride Heterostructures for Enhanced Phenol Degradation}},
author = {Selvarrajan P. C and Arthick Murugesan and Abdul Hai and Sornamurthy B. M and Ramajayam Kanagadurai and G. Bharath},
journal = {Catalysts},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/catal16100932},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/16/10/932},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Composition-Dependent Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic Properties of Silver-Decorated Cobalt Ferrite/Graphitic Carbon Nitride Heterostructures for Enhanced Phenol Degradation
AU - Selvarrajan P. C
AU - Arthick Murugesan
AU - Abdul Hai
AU - Sornamurthy B. M
AU - Ramajayam Kanagadurai
AU - G. Bharath
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Catalysts
DO - 10.3390/catal16100932
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/16/10/932
AB - Efficient regulation of interfacial charge transfer through composition tuning is crucial for developing high-performance visible-light photocatalysts. In this study, the weight ratio of Ag–CoFe2O4 to g-C3N4 was systematically tuned (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, and 25:75 wt.%) to elucidate composition-dependent optical and interfacial properties and optimize photocatalytic degradation of phenol. The resulting heterostructures consisted of Ag-containing CoFe2O4 nanoparticles intimately integrated with two-dimensional g-C3N4, generating well-defined interfaces for charge-carrier migration. Among the investigated compositions, the 50:50 wt.% Ag–CoFe2O4/g-C3N4 heterostructure exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity, achieving approximately 60% phenol removal within 10 min, >90% within 20 min, and nearly 100% within 30 min. Further optimization revealed an optimum catalyst dosage of 10 mg, which achieved complete phenol removal within approximately 15 min, while 15% H2O2 accelerated complete removal to approximately 10 min. The superior performance of the optimized 50:50 wt.% composition is attributed to a favorable balance between visible-light harvesting, heterointerfacial contact, accessible reactive sites, and efficient charge separation and migration, together with Ag-mediated plasmonic effects and Co/Fe-mediated H2O2 activation for reactive oxygen species generation. The optimized heterostructure also demonstrated good recyclability, retaining approximately 97% phenol removal in the later cycles. These findings demonstrate that tuning the Ag–CoFe2O4:g-C3N4 weight ratio provides an effective strategy for engineering interfacial charge transfer and maximizing photocatalytic performance for industrial wastewater treatment.
SN - 2073-4344
ER -