A novel porous and highly efficient Fe-Ce-Co nanoparticles anchored in biochar derived from coconut husk for photo-Fenton degradation of binary mixtures of dyes

Abstract

In this study, Fe-Ce-Co@BC, a biochar-based nanocatalystmaterial, was synthesized and used for the photocatalytic decomposition of hazardous dyes (Rhodamine B and Methylene Blue) in open exposure to the sun. The Fe-Ce-Co@BC photocatalyst was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), in order to determine its structure, composition and morphology. For an accurate evaluation of the nanocatalyst sample's optical characteristics, UV–visible (UV–vis) spectrophotometry was used. The photocatalytic ability of the as-synthesized nanocatalyst was evaluated by analyzing dye degradation under visible light irradiation. Data from SEM, TEM, XRD, HRTEM, and XPS showed that the expected nano-catalyst had formed. From the nanocatalyst band-gap position, it implies a substantial decrease in the rate of electron-hole recombination and thereby improved charge separation. Thus, it turned out that the nanocatalyst's effective photocatalytic activity had resulted from the synergistic interactions between the various moieties. Under visible light irradiation for 35 and 25 min, the photocatalyst was observed to degrade the developing organic water pollutants RhB and MB by 94.24 ± 1.21% and 96.34 ± 1.42%, respectively. Pseudo-first order kinetics were used to guide the photodegradation, with specific reaction rates of 0.1117 and 0.1364 min−1, respectively. Investigations have also been done into how other factors, including contact duration, catalyst dosage, starting concentration, and water matrices, affect degrading performance. The current study achieves its goal of creating a nano-photocatalyst with excellent photostability and reusability that is effective in the visible area of the electromagnetic spectrum and can break down emergent, non-biodegradable organic components water pollutants.