Revolutionizing Photocatalytic Water Treatment: An In-Depth Exploration of G-C3n4 Iron Oxide and Carbon-Mediated Upgrading for an Optimal Decontamination of Vltava River Water

Bacteria removal and water decontamination is the objective of our study. Fresh water samples taken from the Vltava River were used in all experiments. The goal was achieved by the synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) photocatalyst doped with a combination of carbon (C) and iron oxide (Fe3O4). Carbon and iron oxide nanoparticles with different loadings were incorporated inside the g-C3N4 nano-sheets by the wet impregnation method. Heat treatment was applied in order to achieve photocatalyst and dopant cohesion. The photocatalysts and their precursors were characterized by N2 sorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), photoluminescence, and Raman spectroscopy. The metal and non-metal sample composed of 1C-1Fe3O4/g-C3N4 revealed the best catalytic performance by eradicating the bacterial species in 30 min. The photocatalyst showed also a good activity in degrading methylene blue (MB). The high activity of the treated photocatalyst 1C-1Fe3O4/g-C3N4 was attributed to an improvement in electrochemical properties and was also ascribed to the double synergic mechanism due to the concurrent presence of iron and carbon nanoparticles in the g-C3N4 sheets. The high activity, stability, and non-toxicity of this material prove the high potential of this material to be integrated into photocatalytic membranes or processes for revolutionized water purification technologies.