Photocatalytic Applications of Iron Oxide/Carbon Nitride Composites

Photocatalytic applications of iron oxide/carbon nitride composites have attracted considerable attention due to the complementary electronic and structural properties of iron oxides (notably hematite, α-Fe2O3) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4). The intimate coupling of these semiconductors forms heterojunctions that enhance visible-light absorption and suppress charge-carrier recombination. Morphological control—ranging from two-dimensional nanosheets to nanofilms—optimises interfacial contact and charge-migration pathways. Moreover, designs such as Z-scheme and type-II heterojunctions preserve strong redox potentials, enabling efficient solar-driven hydrogen evolution, photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and photo-Fenton oxidation. Co-modification with co-catalysts and magnetic separability further extend practicality for water treatment and environmental remediation. Ongoing efforts focus on scalable synthesis, broadened spectral response and mechanistic insight to facilitate real-world deployment.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated that integrating molybdenum disulphide with iron oxide and g-C3N4 yields a ternary composite exhibiting a five-fold increase in hydrogen evolution under visible light. Enhanced light harvesting and enlarged surface area provide abundant reactive sites, while rapid charge separation minimises recombination. In parallel, magnetically separable α-Fe2O3/Fe3O4/g-C3N4 nanocomposites have been shown to tune their band gap between 2.8 eV and 1.6 eV by varying iron oxide content. An optimised composition (approximately 37 wt % iron oxides) delivers superior photocurrent density and decolourisation of organic dyes, highlighting the importance of phase composition in tailoring photocatalytic performance.

Photocatalytic Applications of Iron Oxide/Carbon Nitride Composites publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in photocatalytic applications of iron oxide/carbon nitride composites across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Photocatalyst: A material that uses absorbed light to generate charge carriers which drive chemical reactions.

Heterojunction: The interface between two semiconductors with differing band structures that facilitates charge separation.

Z-scheme heterojunction: A charge-transfer architecture mimicking natural photosynthesis, enabling sequential electron flow while retaining strong redox potentials.

Type-II heterojunction: A band alignment where electrons and holes localise in separate semiconductors, reducing recombination.

Photo-Fenton reaction: An advanced oxidation process combining light irradiation and Fenton chemistry to generate hydroxyl radicals.

Band gap: The energy difference between the valence band and conduction band dictating the wavelength threshold for light absorption.

References

1. MoS2 and Fe2O3 co-modify g-C3N4 to improve the performance of photocatalytic hydrogen production. Scientific Reports (2022).
2. Effects of iron oxide contents on photocatalytic performance of nanocomposites based on g-C3N4. Scientific Reports (2023).
3. Mixed-Phase Fe2O3 Derived from Natural Hematite Ores/C3N4 Z-Scheme Photocatalyst for Ofloxacin Removal. Catalysts (2023).
4. The Construction of an α-F2O3/Tubular g-C3N4 Z-Scheme Heterojunction Catalyst for the Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline. Coatings (2023).
5. Synthesis and Characterization of an α-Fe2O3-Decorated g-C3N4 Heterostructure for the Photocatalytic Removal of MO. Molecules (2022).