Lathifah Puji Hastuti, Desinta Dwi Ristiana, Ilham Tryawan, Oka Pradipta Arjasa, Abdul Hamid Budiman
Heavy metal contamination, particularly lead (Pb), poses an escalating risk to agricultural sustainability. Fertiliser is expected to improve nutrient use while preventing heavy metal contamination. Nanomaterials have shown remarkable potential in mitigating heavy metal stress in plants. The rGO/g-C3N4 composite was synthesized to mitigate Pb toxicity in rice cultivation and then used as a photocatalyst in the degradation of organic dyes such as methylene blue (MB) to better use materials when they are released in nature. Bulk g-C3N4 formed via urea pyrolysis was integrated with rGO synthesized via a modified Hummers method. The characterization using XRD, Raman, FTIR, SEM, UV–Vis DRS, and PL confirmed rGO incorporation, thus supporting its use to improve the plant phytotoxicity and photocatalytic activity. Hydroponic rice studies indicated reduced Pb uptake, diminished oxidative stress, and elevated Chlorophyll, resulting in increased biomass. to the Pb‐only group. The addition of composite helps to alleviate the effects of Pb exposure, proven by the improvement in root and leaf length up to 15–20 % and decreasing MDA level from 0.64 to 0.48 μM/mg protein compared the plant without composite. Under visible light, rGO/g-C3N4 showed higher MB degradation (68 %) than g-C3N4 alone (50 %). The kinetic studies of MB photodegradation followed the pseudo-first-order Lagergren model with a kinetic constant of 0.3023 g mg−1 min−1. Thus, rGO/g-C3N4 is a promising material for sustainable agriculture and environmental remediation, offering versatile and beneficial outcomes. © 2025 The Author(s)
Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Brawijaya University, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Magister of Biotechnology, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia; Research Center for Energy Conversion and Conservation, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), South Tangerang, 15314, Indonesia
