Postindustrial Jute Waste as a Support for Nano-Carbon Nitride Photocatalyst: Influence of Chemical Pretreatment

Non-woven jute (NWJ) produced from carpet industry waste was oxidized by H₂O₂ or alkali-treated by NaOH and compared with water-washed samples. Changes in the structure of the NWJ, tracked by X-ray diffraction (XRD), showed that both chemical treatments disrupt hydrogen bond networks between cellulose Iβ chains of the NWJ fibers. Thereafter, nano-carbon nitride (nCN) was impregnated, using a layer-by-layer technique, onto water-washed jute samples (nCN-Jw), NaOH-treated samples (nCN-Ja) and-H₂O₂ treated samples (nCN-Jo). Analysis of the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of the impregnated samples revealed that nCN anchors to the water-washed NWJ surface through hemicellulose and secondary hydroxyl groups of the cellulose. In the case of chemically treated samples, nCN is preferentially bonded to the hydroxymethyl groups of cellulose. The stability and reusability of prepared nCN-jute (nCN-J) samples were assessed by tracking the photocatalytic degradation of Acid Orange 7 (AO7) dye under simulated solar light irradiation. Results from up to ten consecutive photocatalytic cycles demonstrated varying degrees of effectiveness across different samples. nCN-Jo and nCN-Ja samples exhibited declining effectiveness over cycles, attributed to bond instability between nCN and jute. In contrast, the nCN-Jw sample consistently maintained high degradation rates over ten cycles, with a dye removal percentage constantly above 90%.