Synthesis and characterization of SbSI modified g-C3N4 composite for photocatalytic and energy storage applications

Two dimensional carbon related materials with superior charge separation and excellent transport properties have been highly used in the field of photocatalytic and electrochemical applications. The hydrothermally synthesized antimony sulfoiodide (SbSI) doped g-C3N4 composite (CSI) has excellent charge storage and charge transport properties. The physio-chemical properties of the synthesized SbSI doped g-C3N4 materials are examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform-infra red spectroscopy (FT-IR), Ultraviolet-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) techniques. The photocatalytic examination of the synthesized catalyst materials is carried out in presence of visible light irradiation using Rhodamine B (RhB), Bromophenol blue (BPB) and mixed dye effluents. The synthesized photocatalyst material CSI shows excellent photocatalytic activity of 94%, 80% and 92% against BPB, RhB and mixed dye effluent and the stability of the prepared material was 95% even after four consecutive photocatalytic performances. In addition, the electrochemical properties of the synthesized CSI composite is examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) analysis and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) investigations. The synthesized composite material depicts good specific capacitance of 212 F/g at 0.5 A/g current density and retains 96% of the stability after 1000 consecutive GCD performance. The experimental finding confirms that the CSI composites have enhanced photocatalytic and electrochemical performance than the synthesized SbSI and g-C3N4 materials.