Removal of hazardous diethyl phthalate released from plastics using mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride boosted with ferrocene (Fc/g-C₃N₄) under visible light

The modification of the structure and surface of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with transition organo-metallic compounds for photocatalytic applications has been expanded in recent years. In this study, ferrocene was selected to attach to the graphitic carbon nitride (Fc/g-C3N4) via imino bonds between ferrocene carboxaldehyde and the amino group of g-C3N4 to increase the photocatalytic efficiency for the decomposition of the co-polymer diethylphthalate (DEP). Ferrocene was grafted onto g-C3N4 and identified with FT-IR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, XRF, XRD, XPS, UV-visible DRS, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, SEM, HR-TEM, EDX, BET, photocurrent, EIS, and cyclic voltammetry. Photodegradation was performed in an aqueous medium with Fc/g-C3N4 in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The decomposition of DEP was carried out under electromagnetic radiation with different wavelengths and pH. The best degradation was obtained in the presence of blue light and acidic conditions. The active species that plays a key role in this degradation is (OH), which is formed during the photocatalytic performance of Fc/g-C3N4. The degradation process was completely followed by HPLC. The feasible mechanism for the photodegradation of DEP was also proposed and discussed in detail.