Dahlia flower like–layered ɑ-MnO2/B@g-C3N4 nanocomposite for visible Light–Induced photocatalytic removal of tetracycline

Abstract

Fabrication of Dahliaflower like layered semiconductor photocatalyst agreed as a promising technology for absorbing the visible light at ambient temperature to achieve the high efficacy of degrading the organic contaminants and dye wastes without secondary pollution. We present here a novel manganese oxide (ɑ-MnO2) supported Boron doped g-C3N4 nanocomposites (ɑ-MnO2/B@g-C3N4) successfully fabricated by simple and cost-effective hydrothermal technique. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with EDAX, High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Photoluminescence spectra, Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV-Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy were used to investigate the structural, morphological, compositional, functional, and optical properties of nanocomposite. The powder XRD pattern revealed the formation of tetragonal ɑ-MnO2 nanoparticles without secondary peaks implies the formation of pure nanocomposite. Raman analysis confirmed tetragonal structure without any distortions. The average particle size was found to be in nanometer and it was confirmed with the morphological analysis. The HRTEM images confirmed nanometer-sized particles, and the optical “d” spacing values validated the fabrication of nanocomposites semiconductors with narrow band capacity. The sharp peak observed from FTIR at 520 cm−1 was the fingerprint of Mn–O that implies the formation of ɑ-MnO2 nanoparticles. Photoluminescence analysis showed an effective separation with delayed recombination of photoinduced electron–hole pairs. The efficiency of photocatalytic activity was compared with the pure g-C3N4 nanocomposites where the results showed a significant photocatalytic enhancement rate due to the presence of boron doping on the g-C3N4 surface. Electron-hole pairs are formed during charge recombination, which helps in the activation of various photocatalyst reactions, such as the production of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals. The degradation performance of the as-synthesized nanocomposites over the antibiotic Tetracycline (TC) was calculated to be 87% which reveals that ɑ-MnO2/B@g-C3N4 nanocomposites are more suitable for domestic and industrial wastewater treatment. In general, our work demonstrates that photocatalysis is a promising sorbent technique for the treatment of environmental antibiotic wastewater.