Facile synthesis of a GO-g-C₃N₄/BaTiO₃ ternary nanocomposites for visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B

Photogenerated charge carriers can undergo rapid recombination in conventional photocatalyst systems, reducing their photocatalytic efficiency. To address this bottleneck, a g-C₃N₄/BaTiO₃ (CNB) heterojunction composite was decorated with different mass ratios of graphene oxide (GO) to form a novel visible-light responsive ternary GO-g-C₃N₄/BaTiO₃ (GOCNB) nanocomposite using a facile fabrication method. The GOCNB photocatalyst exhibited significantly higher light absorption and greater charge transfer than CNB, g-C₃N₄, or BaTiO₃. The photodegradation performance of GOCNB was optimized with a 2% mass loading of GO, and it achieved a degradation rate constant of 14.9 × 10⁻³ min⁻¹ for rhodamine B with an efficiency of 94% within 180 min. The rate constant was 8-fold and 6-fold higher than that of bare BaTiO₃ and CNB, respectively. The stronger photocatalytic activity was attributed to the synergistic effect of GO, g-C₃N₄, and BaTiO₃, with g-C₃N₄ and BaTiO₃ promoting charge transfer within a wider visible light range and GO promoting electron mobility and the photocatalyst's adsorption capacity. In particular, the proposed system maintained the spatial separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, which is vital for high photocatalytic activity. This study provides new insights into semiconductor-based photocatalytic systems and suggests a route for more environmentally sustainable technologies.