Graphene Oxide-Graft-Poly(4-Vinylpyridine)/CdSe Heterojunction in 3D Hydrogel Networks for Dye Degradation

The development of functional hydrogel composites for environmental remediation represents a prominent research direction in sustainable materials science. In this investigation, a hierarchical (GO- g -P4VP/CdSe)@PAA hydrogel was fabricated through a multi-step synthesis protocol. Graphene oxide-grafted poly(4-vinylpyridine)/cadmium selenide (GO- g -P4VP/CdSe) nanocomposite was initially synthesized via facile hydrothermal crystallization, followed by integration into a polyacrylic acid (PAA) matrix through solution-phase crosslinking. The photocatalytic performance evaluation demonstrated that the composite hydrogel exhibited remarkable visible-light-driven catalytic activity. This enhanced degradation efficiency is attributed to the synergistic effects between the P4VP-mediated charge transfer pathways and the GO/CdSe heterojunction structure, which effectively suppresses photogenerated carrier recombination. The three-dimensional (3D) porous hydrogel architecture further promotes reactive oxygen species generation through improved pollutant adsorption-concentration effects and multiple light-refraction events, underscoring its potential for water treatment applications.