Hydroxyl-/Carboxyl-Rich Graphitic Carbon Nitride/Graphene Oxide Composites for Efficient Photodegradation of Reactive Red 195 and Antibacterial Applications

In this work, a protonated graphitic carbon nitride (P-g-C3N4)-coated graphene oxide (GO) composite (GO/P-g-C3N4) was prepared via wet-chemistry exfoliation, followed by a freeze-drying process. The GO/P-g-C3N4 composite was found to have an outstanding photodegradation performance effect on the reactive red 195 (RR195) dye and very strong antibacterial properties. Both the GO structure and the dispersed state of P-g-C3N4 were found to play a significant role in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of GO/P-g-C3N4. The GO/P-g-C3N4 obtained via freeze-drying retained a large number of oxygen-containing groups and showed higher catalytic activity and reusability than the reduced GO (rGO)/g-C3N4 obtained via thermal reduction. Characterization of the samples indicates that GO/P-g-C3N4 has a higher specific surface area and photocurrent density than rGO/g-C3N4; it is likely that these properties lead to the superior photocatalytic activity observed in GO/P-g-C3N4. Adsorption energy calculations indicate that O2 can be readily adsorbed onto the GO surface, which results in stronger oxidizing superoxide anion radicals (•O2–) and holes (h+); these active radicals can rapidly degrade RR195 dyes. Moreover, broad-spectrum antibacterial activity (demonstrated against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) was observed in the case of the GO/P-g-C3N4 composite irradiated with visible light. This work offers new insights into the design of cost-effective g-C3N4-based photocatalysts for environmental remediation.