Next-Gen Photocatalysts: Solvent-free ZnO-TiO2-g-C₃N₄ Composites for dye degradation and their Antioxidant activity

Next-Gen Photocatalysts: Solvent-free ZnO-TiO2-g-C₃N₄ Composites for dye degradation and their Antioxidant activity | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Next-Gen Photocatalysts: Solvent-free ZnO-TiO 2 -g-C₃N₄ Composites for dye degradation and their Antioxidant activity Sachin Dhawale, Neeraj R Prasad, Chetan Shinde, R Jadhav, A P Tiwari, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7159936/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the photocatalytic performance of Titanium oxide (TiO₂), Zinc Oxide (ZnO), graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄), and their hybrids for textile effluent degradation. Among these photocatalysts, TiO₂ nanoparticles exhibit a spherical morphology with a particle size ranging from 20 to 50 nm. In contrast, ZnO displays a hexagonal rod-like structure, with an average particle size of 200 nm. The specific surface areas of TiO₂ and ZnO are determined to be 6.413 m²/g and 5.325 m²/g, respectively. ZnO demonstrates slightly lower rhodamine 6G (R6G) degradation efficiency (70.00%) compared to TiO₂ (74.35%), with a rate constant of 0.64 × 10⁻² min⁻¹ and 0.79 × 10⁻² min⁻¹, respectively. g-C₃N₄ exhibits a plate-like morphology with a higher specific surface area (9.018 m²/g) due to its layered structure. The ZnO-5wt.%TiO₂ binary composite shows a specific surface area of 9.098 m²/g and achieves 94.02% degradation of R6G with a rate constant of 1.72 × 10⁻² min⁻¹, highlighting its improved photocatalytic efficiency. Advanced heterojunctions, such as ZnO-5 wt.% TiO₂-10 wt.% g-C₃N₄, have an even greater surface area (9.168 m²/g) and photocatalytic activity, achieving 99.99% degradation of R6G with a rate constant of 2.163 × 10⁻² min⁻¹. The photocatalytic activity of the composite is three times higher than that of pure ZnO. These results highlight the synergistic effects of combining TiO₂, ZnO, and g-C₃N₄, which facilitate reduced electron-hole recombination, enhanced charge carrier separation, and improved photocatalytic degradation efficiency. These findings emphasize the potential of TiO₂, ZnO, g-C₃N₄, and their composites as efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly photocatalysts for textile effluent degradation. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) Titanium Oxide (TiO2) Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Textile Dye degradation Polycondensation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files ga.jpg Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7159936","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":501179827,"identity":"8a46868f-a969-463b-9a74-d57c8bafb625","order_by":0,"name":"Sachin Dhawale","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Devchand College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sachin","middleName":"","lastName":"Dhawale","suffix":""},{"id":501179828,"identity":"115d2e01-07a0-4627-8df9-614e98c6be3c","order_by":1,"name":"Neeraj R Prasad","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Walchand College of 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degradation, Polycondensation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7159936/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7159936/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigates the photocatalytic performance of Titanium oxide (TiO₂), Zinc Oxide (ZnO), graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄), and their hybrids for textile effluent degradation. Among these photocatalysts, TiO₂ nanoparticles exhibit a spherical morphology with a particle size ranging from 20 to 50 nm. In contrast, ZnO displays a hexagonal rod-like structure, with an average particle size of 200 nm. The specific surface areas of TiO₂ and ZnO are determined to be 6.413 m\u0026sup2;/g and 5.325 m\u0026sup2;/g, respectively. ZnO demonstrates slightly lower rhodamine 6G (R6G) degradation efficiency (70.00%) compared to TiO₂ (74.35%), with a rate constant of 0.64 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup2; min⁻\u0026sup1; and 0.79 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup2; min⁻\u0026sup1;, respectively. g-C₃N₄ exhibits a plate-like morphology with a higher specific surface area (9.018 m\u0026sup2;/g) due to its layered structure. The ZnO-5wt.%TiO₂ binary composite shows a specific surface area of 9.098 m\u0026sup2;/g and achieves 94.02% degradation of R6G with a rate constant of 1.72 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup2; min⁻\u0026sup1;, highlighting its improved photocatalytic efficiency. Advanced heterojunctions, such as ZnO-5 wt.% TiO₂-10 wt.% g-C₃N₄, have an even greater surface area (9.168 m\u0026sup2;/g) and photocatalytic activity, achieving 99.99% degradation of R6G with a rate constant of 2.163 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup2; min⁻\u0026sup1;. The photocatalytic activity of the composite is three times higher than that of pure ZnO. These results highlight the synergistic effects of combining TiO₂, ZnO, and g-C₃N₄, which facilitate reduced electron-hole recombination, enhanced charge carrier separation, and improved photocatalytic degradation efficiency. These findings emphasize the potential of TiO₂, ZnO, g-C₃N₄, and their composites as efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly photocatalysts for textile effluent degradation.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Next-Gen Photocatalysts: Solvent-free ZnO-TiO2-g-C₃N₄ Composites for dye degradation and their Antioxidant activity","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-22 07:44:25","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7159936/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"acb30b89-dc74-4884-a32a-b6a18b446313","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 22nd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-09-12T20:08:22+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-22 07:44:25","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7159936","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7159936","identity":"rs-7159936","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}