ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Highly efficient 10% Ag₃PO₄/g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst for naproxen removal under UV-A and sunlight irradiation

Zakarya Zebiri, Nadra Debbache, Khalida Belahlou, and Tahar Sehili

Laboratoire des Sciences et Technologies de l’Environnement (LSTE), Faculté des Sciences Exactes, Université des Frères Mentouri Constantine 1, Constantine, Algeria

E-mail: zakaria.zebiri@umc.edu.dz

Received: 16 October 2025  Accepted: 7 March 2026

Abstract:

Pharmaceutical contamination in aquatic environments represents a growing environmental concern that requires innovative remediation approaches. This research focuses on developing Ag₃PO₄/g-C₃N₄ (AgP/CN) composite photocatalysts to effectively remove naproxen (NPX), a frequently detected non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication in wastewater. AgP/CN composite materials were prepared with varying AgP loadings (10% and 20%), then characterized through multiple techniques, including XRD, FT-IR, UV–vis DRS, SEM, and BET. The photocatalytic performance of the materials was carried out by monitoring NPX abatement throughout the experiment. The 10% AgP/CN composite exhibited exceptional photocatalytic activity, surpassing both pristine CN and AgP. Under both UVA and natural sunlight exposure, the optimized composite achieved a degradation rate of 98.6% in just 6 min, with a reaction rate constant of 0.761 ± 0.011 min⁻¹, which was 6.6 folds compared to that of g-C₃N₄ and 36 folds compared to Ag₃PO₄. The enhanced activity of the composite is due to the synergistic interaction between the two materials and the formation of a Type II heterojunction at the interface, which promotes effective charge carrier separation. Feasibility testing of the catalyst under natural sunlight exposure and in the presence of interfering ions demonstrated high efficiency, confirming the practical viability of the 10% AgP/CN composite for real-world environmental applications. This research demonstrates the feasibility and the exceptional efficiency of a low silver content photocatalyst composite for NPX removal.

Keywords: Ag3PO4; g-C3N4; Photodegradation; Composite; Type II heterojunction

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-026-04789-3

Chemical Papers 80 (6) 6603–6614 (2026)