Graphene Oxide‐Graft‐Poly(4‐Vinylpyridine)/ <scp>CdSe</scp> Heterojunction in <scp>3D</scp> Hydrogel Networks for Dye Degradation

ABSTRACT 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.