Preparation of g-C3N4/Bismuth Iodide/Tourmaline Composites and Their Photodegradation Performance of Amaranthine
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript work entitled “Preparation of g-C3N4/BiOI/tourmaline Composites and Their 2 Photodegradation Performance of Amaranthine” provides contribution to the field, however I observe the necessity of adjustments to improve the quality of the paper. I suggest the authors to address thoroughly the comments below:
Subsection 2.1
1 - provide the complete list of chemical and reagents with purity and molecular weight, more than only manufacturer.
Subsection 2.2
2 - The sentence …”5 g of melamine was sintered in”, it is “synthesized”, sintering is another producing method not related to C3N4.
3 - Also, please provide more details on the synthesis, was it in muffle furnace, did you use a porcelain crucible, was the crucible closed?
4 - “and subsequently, g-C3N4 was obtained nanofilms.” In general, from the obtained C3N4 from melamine, and crushing (not grounding), you do not obtain nanofilms, it would be agglomerates or particles, please clarify how you proceeded after the crushing process to manage this particles and then to obtain a film. In the sequence explanations you are not dealing with films, but in fact powder/particles.
5 - “subjected to high-pressure conditions”, please specify the pressure, the type of system used.
6 - From the preparation steps of the g-C3N4/BiOI and g-C3N4/BiOI/tourmaline materials, I see that it was only physical mixture of powder, please highlight it.
Subsection 2.3
7 - There are many typing/spelling mistakes, please modify them to improve the English quality.
8 - Mercury lamp, specify the supplier. More detailed description of used photoreactor (i.e. photo or schematic) should be included in this section.
Subsection 3.1
9 - On the SEM images, highlight better the image magnifications, it is not possible to identify the particles sizes. Also, provide the EDXS spectra to clearly specify the regions were is Bi, C, N and the elements from tourmaline.
Section 3.4
10 - Figure 3.10, X axis is not time(min), it is cycle.
Other observations
11 - Photocatalytic studies: please provide all the original plots for UV-Vis spectra obtained from the photocatalysis tests in a separate supplementary file.
12 - Provide at the end of the article a table addressing your optimal results and comparison on performances with other works that studied the photodegradation of Amaranth dye.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageIn the manuscript as a whole: There are several typographical and grammatical mistakes which should be corrected. Moderate english revision is needed.
Author Response
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Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsArticle is not adequate for journal scope. It's not connected with any coatings. Authors doesn't analize any surface or between surfaces effects.
I have some more detailed comments:
1) Authors have written about "combined with 1.0% tourmaline" (line 99). What kind of percent the authors write about? Mass? Volumetry?
2) You have some misspell f.e. was dispemL (line 105) or The rsed in 100 catalysts (line 110)
3) In XRD results peaks are only ascribed to substances but not connected with crystalography of them
4) SEM images are not in the same scale, so it's hard to compare them
5) XPS analysis is not good. Deconvoluted peaks are not good in sum to spectra. Baseline for iodide is in the strange position. In oxygen spectra you should have some signals from tourmaline. You have iodide spectra two times. And you don't have good discussion about peaks position.
6) In the lines 186-198 I think you mean Figure 3-4(b), not 3-6 (b) as you've written. How lookes UV-Vis spectra for clear tourmaline?
7) Figure 3-6 haven't (a) and (b). The legends on that two pictures is different and it's hard to work with both of them. When you calculate degradation kinetic parameters you should start from moment, when you turn on the light, because in this moment you changing mechanism of process. And you have some stars line - it is not in the legend. What is this?
8) Figure 3-10 - what do you have on OX axis? I think that is not time in minutes
9) Figure 3-13 is very strange. Where is tourmaline in our system?
Author Response
We uploaded a separate file. Thank you.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe paper by Junsheng Li et al. on the photodegradation of amaranthine by g-C3N4/BiOI/tourmaline is interesting and deserves to be published once the authors have corrected some shortcomings.
Regarding the abstract, the following part " Food dyes serve as prevalent additives in the food industry, enhancing the visual appeal of consumable products. However, their manufacturing process generates a significant volume of dye wastewater characterized by high biochemical oxygen demand. This wastewater contributes to a range of environmental issues, including unpleasant odors, water turbidity, mortality among aquatic organisms, and potential harm to human health. In recent years, photocatalysis has emerged as a promising "green" technology for wastewater treatment. It harnesses natural or artificial light to produce chemical energy, facilitating the decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen, and effectively removing organic pollutants" should be placed in the introduction.
In the experimental section, the nature of the photocatalyst (film or powder) is unclear, especially since measurements were made as a function of photocatalyst concentration. The measurement of photodegradation is also not well described. There is no indication of the energy density used. It is not made clear that the dye concentration is determined from the absorption band of the solution at 522 nm, which is characteristic of amaranth.
Regarding photodegradation measurements: According to the graphs presented, the time t = 0 must correspond to the time when the illumination of the solution begins. This detail must be clarified in the text. Consequently, since the solution evolves even before it is exposed to illumination, the concentration C0 must be that at t = 0 and not the initial concentration of the solution (30 minutes before illumination) in order to use the two classical photodegradation kinetics plots: i) the percentage (or efficiency) of photodegradation (C0-C(t))/C0 = f(t) and ii) -ln((C(t)/C0) = f(t).
Graphs 3-6 through 3-9 and 3-11 must be corrected, as well as any results derived from them (Tables 3-1 through 3-4).
Authors should compare their results with those of other authors on similar works, such as those in the following reference: Diamond & Related Materials 121 (2022) 108790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diamond.2021.108790
Minor corrections:
Review the numbering of plots and tables.
"Band gap values for g-C3N4, g- C3N4/BiOI, and g- C3N4/BiOI/tourmaline samples were determined from the Tauc's plots of Figure 3-4(b)."
Give the units of the vertical axis of Figure 3-4(b) or give arbitrary units.
Several English typos to correct.
Author Response
We uploaded a separate file. Thank you.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI am satisfied with the modifications and recommend the work for publishing.
Author Response
Thank you for your encouragement.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsLook carreful for misspells.
Author Response
We uploaded a separate file. Thank you.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe authors have made some of the requested corrections. However, the text added to curve 2.2 would lead one to believe that the AR concentration is determined from the maximum of the absorbance peak at 522 nm. However, it is the area of this peak that should be related to the AR concentration.
I would like the authors to make this important correction and, if necessary, correct their results accordingly.
The legend in Fig. 2.1 should be Absorbance spectrum of an AR solution at 10 mg/L.
Finally, the numbering of the figures has still not been restored to the classical form.
Author Response
We uploaded a separate file. Thank you.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 3
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe legend of Figure 2.2 should read "Calibration curve of absorbance at 522 nm versus concentration" and the title of its vertical axis should be "Absorbance (a. u.)".
Author Response
We uploaded a separate file. Thank you.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
