Visible light-driven photocatalytic rapid degradation of organic contaminants engaging manganese dioxide-incorporated iron oxide three dimensional nanoflowers

Iqra Rabani, Chinna Bathula, Rabia Zafar, Muhammad Shoaib Tahir, Ye Jee Park, Hyun Seok Kim, Mu Naushad, Young Soo Seo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Scopus citations

Abstract

Water pollution via hazardous organic pollutants poses a high threat to the environment and globally imperils aquatic life and human health. Therefore, the elimination of toxic organic waste from water sources is vital to ensure a healthy green environment. In the current work, we synthesized α-MnO2-Fe3O4 3D-flower like structure using a two-step hydrothermal method and explored the combination in a visible-light-assisted photocatalytic degrdation of dyes. The attained high specific surface area of 82 m2/g with mesoporous nature of α-MnO2 and Fe3O4 together can generate more active sites after exposure to visible light, leading to remarkable photodegradation performance. Significantly, twofold higher dye (methylene blue, MB (94.8%/120 min; crystal violet, CV (93.7%/120 min)) and drug (LVO 91%/90 min) photodegradations were observed with α-MnO2-Fe3O4 as catalyst than pure α-MnO2 and Fe3O4 at pH 6, respectively. This is attributed to the higher surface area and synergistic effect between Mn and Fe. More than 85% stability was observed with optimized catalysts employing MB and CV dyes, demonstrating the excellent reusability of the α-MnO2-Fe3O4. The underlying mechanism indicates that the formation of reactive oxygen species predominantly plays a role in the photodegradation of dyes under visible light. Consequently, these new insights will shed light on the practical applications of the α-MnO2-Fe3O4 3D-flower-like spherical structure for eco-friendly remediation via wastewater treatment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2347-2357
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Colloid and Interface Science
Volume608
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Feb 2022

Keywords

  • 3D-flower like spherical structure
  • Photocatalysis activity
  • Wastewater treatment
  • α-MnO-FeO

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