Graphitic carbon nitride in the systems of the sonocatalytic oxidative degradation of Direct Yellow 4 dye

Keywords

synthesis, graphitic carbon nitride, sonocatalyst, ultrasonic cavitation, oxida¬tive degradation, diazo dye Direct Yellow 4, purification of aqueous media.

Cite as

Sukhatskiy Yu. V., Tsymbaliuk V. V., Shepida М. V., and Korniy S. A. Graphitic carbon nitride in the systems of the sonocatalytic oxidative degradation of Direct Yellow 4 dye. Physicochemical Mechanics of Materials. 2026. 62(1), 086-094.

https://doi.org/10.15407/pcmm2026.01.086

Abstract

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) was synthesized by the thermal polymerization (at 550°C) of melamine. The diffraction pattern of the synthesis product is described by a hexagonal unit cell with the space group P6₃cm. The peaks on it (at 27.381° and 13.27°) correspond to g-C₃N₄, and the other peaks (in the ranges 17…23° and 42…57°) are due to small amounts of intermediate products of thermal polymerization of melamine – melem, dimelem, and melon in the target product. The average crystallite size of g-C₃N₄ was calculated using the Debye–Scherrer equation and was approximately 8 nm. The func­tional groups of chemical bonds characteristic of g-C₃N₄ were identified by Fourier-trans­form infrared spectro­scopy. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the crystallite structure is layered, and its surface contains pores, wrinkles, and tubular structures. The effectiveness of g-C₃N₄ as a sonocatalyst for the decomposition of oxidizing agents (potassium peroxy­monosulfate in the oxone form, peracetic acid, potassium periodate, and sodium percar­bo­nate) was evaluated based on the results of studies of the effectiveness of innovative sono­catalytic oxidation systems “ultrasonic cavitation–g-C₃N₄–oxidant” for the degradation of the diazo dye Direct Yellow 4. The maximum degree of dye degradation (89.3% in 3600 s), and, consequently, the greatest efficiency of g-C₃N₄ as a sonocatalyst  for the decomposition of oxidants, was achieved when potassium peroxymonosulfate in the oxone form was used, which is associated with the generation of non-selective hydro­xyl and sulfate radicals with high redox potential values.

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