Grafting of CuCo Alloy Nanoparticles on g-C₃N₄ Sheet: An Efficient Strategy for Solar-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Ibuprofen and H₂ Gas Evolution by Water Splitting

Abstract

This study offers a simple surfactant-assisted deposition coreduction procedure for producing non-noble bimetallic nanoparticles supported on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4). The nanocomposite was utilized toward hydrogen gas evolution by water splitting and efficient photocatalytic wastewater treatment. The structural and morphological evaluation of the composite revealed that the bimetallic nanoparticles are uniformly decorated over g-C3N4 without any possible aggregation. The desired combination of the CuCo alloy bimetallic nanoparticles was confirmed by the uniform distribution of elemental Cu and Co from the energy-dispersive X-ray studies. According to optical and electrochemical investigations, the composite had improved photoresponse qualities, reduced recombination of charges, and an extended lifespan. Following that, photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity was tested in which 5 wt % CuCo(3:1)/g-C3N4 had a maximum hydrogen gas evolution rate of 4638.4 μmol g–1 h–1, which was 1.85 times higher than that of CuCo(3:1) bimetallic nanoparticles and 5.15 folds compared to the pristine graphitic carbon nitride. The composite demonstrated stronger photocatalytic properties over five consecutive cycles, indicating that the photocatalyst is both efficient and highly stable in nature. Additionally, the recyclable nanocomposite photocatalytically degraded the hazardous pharmaceutical contaminant ibuprofen (IBU) (kapp = 0.02 min–1). Finally, the cytotoxicity of the IBU analyte after photocatalytic degradation was analyzed toward Gram-negative P. aeruginosa and Gram-positive B. subtilis bacteria using the 5 wt % CuCo(3:1)/g-C3N4 nanocomposite. Taken together, our findings provide experimental validation of organic contaminant remediation and water splitting using non-noble CuCo bimetallic nanoparticles that are Earth-abundant and cost-effective which further demonstrate an improvement in photocatalytic activity after modification with g-C3N4. Our results will lead the way toward the possibility of designing suitable g-C3N4-based bimetallic nanoparticle systems with superior photocatalytic performance in environmental remediation as well as in energy-related applications.