DOI: https://doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.20354

Nigella Sativa-mediated Synthesis of BiVO4/g-C3N4 Composites for the Removal of Methylene Blue Dye

Chemistry Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Jenderal Soedirman University, Purwokerto, 53122, Indonesia

Received: 13 Feb 2025; Revised: 21 Apr 2025; Accepted: 22 Apr 2025; Available online: 25 Apr 2025; Published: 30 Aug 2025.
Editor(s): Rodiansono Rodiansono
Open Access Copyright (c) 2025 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Abstract

This study investigates the synthesis and photocatalytic performance of BiVO4-Nigella Sativa/g-C3N4 composites for the degradation of methylene blue dye. The composites were synthesized using a coprecipitation method and characterized through various techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine their crystal structure, chemical composition, morphology, adsorption and photocatalytic abilities. A variation of mass ratios of BiVO4 to g-C3N4 of 1:2, 1:3, and 1:4 was used in this investigation. The photocatalytic test results indicated that the composite with a mass ratio of 1:2 achieved the highest methylene blue degradation, reaching 91.73%, which was primarily attributed to an adsorption activity of 81.12% and a photocatalytic degradation of 10.60%. The photocatalytic activity was significantly enhanced under alkaline conditions, particularly at pH levels between 9 and 10, which facilitated the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The study highlights the synergistic effects of the BiVO4 and g-C3N4 combination, which promotes efficient charge transfer, reduces electron-hole recombination, and expands light absorption due to a decrease in the effective bandgap energy. Overall, the findings indicate that BiVO4-Nigella Sativa/g-C3N4 composites have considerable potential for application in wastewater treatment, particularly for the remediation of organic dye pollutants. Copyright © 2025 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Keywords: Photocatalysis; BiVO4; Nigella Sativa; g-C3N4; Methylene blue; Adsorption
Funding: Unsoed Research Grant under contract No. 27.157/UN23.37/PT.01.03/II/2023.

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Section: Original Research Articles
Language : EN
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