Novel magnetic BaFe12O19/g-C3N4 composites with enhanced thermocatalytic and photo-Fenton activity under visible-light

In this article, a new type of magnetic BaFe12O19/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts were successfully fabricated by combining BaFe12O19 with polymeric g-C3N4. The structures, morphology, optical properties and magnetic property of composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infrared (IR) spectra, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) respectively. The photocatalytic performance of BaFe12O19/g-C3N4 composites were evaluated by removing Rhodamine B (RhB) and degrading tetracycline with the presence of H2O2 under visible-light irradiation. The optimal percentage of doped BaFe12O19 was 16.8 wt%. As well as 16.8 wt% BaFe12O19/g-C3N4 with the presence of H2O2 can keep high photocatalytic activity after four runs reaction under visible-light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic performance could be ascribed to the synergistic effect between BaFe12O19 and g-C3N4, which can facilitate photogenerated charge separation and promote the photo-Fenton process. In addition, the BaFe12O19/g-C3N4 composites have a good magnetic property. After the photocatalytic reaction, the recycling and collection of photocatalyst can be easily achieved. Furthermore, 16.8 wt% BaFe12O19/g-C3N4 can degrade the RhB about 56.6% at 100 min without light irradiation, which is much significantly higher than g-C3N4 and BaFe12O19. The results suggest the combination of g-C3N4 and BaFe12O19 endowed the composite with thermocatalytic degradation ability. It also indicates the synergistic effect between the g-C3N4 and BaFe12O19 play a key role in the degradation reaction.