Enhanced Fenton, photo-Fenton and peroxidase-like activity and stability over Fe3O4/g-C3N4 nanocomposites

We prepared the Fe 3 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 nanoparticles (NPs) through a simple electrostatic self-assembly method with a 3:97 weight ratio to investigate their Fenton , photo-Fenton and oxidative functionalities besides photocatalytic functionality. We observed an improvement of the Fenton and photo-Fenton activities of the Fe 3 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposites . This improvement was attributed to efficient charge transfer between Fe 3 O 4 and g-C 3 N 4 at the heterojunctions, inhibition of electron-hole recombination, a high surface area, and stabilization of Fe 3 O 4 against leaching by the hydrophobic g-C 3 N 4 . The obtained NPs showed a higher degradation potential for rhodamine B (RhB) dye than those of Fe 3 O 4 and g-C 3 N 4 . As compared to photocatalysis , the efficiency of RhB degradation in the Fenton and photo-Fenton reactions was increased by 20% and 90%, respectively. Additionally, the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) activity of the prepared nanomaterials was studied with 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidinedihydrochloride (TMB) as a substrate. Dopamine oxidation was also examined. Results indicate that Fe 3 O 4 /g–C 3 N 4 nanocomposites offers more efficient degradation of RhB dye in a photo-Fenton system compared with regular photocatalytic degradation, which requires a long time. Our study also confirmed that Fe 3 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposites can be used as a potential material for mimicking HRP owing to its high affinity for TMB. These findings suggest good potential for applications in biosensing and as a catalyst in oxidation reactions.