Development and application of redox active GO supported CeO2/In2O3 nanocomposite for photocatalytic degradation of toxic dyes and electrochemical detection of sulfamaxole

Abstract

In the current study, we reported the hydrothermal fabrication of graphene oxide supported In2O3/CeO2 ternary nanocomposite for enhanced photodegradation of two dyes and electrochemical sensing of antibiotic, sulfamaxole. The synthesised nanocomposites were characterized by several physical and analytical techniques, confirming the successful anchorage of In2O3/CeO2 on the conjugated network of graphene oxide (GO). The photocatalytic efficiency of the prepared nanocomposite was examined with the degradation of two textile dyes, Congo red (CR) and methylene blue (MB) in presence of visible light. The photocatalytic performance was seen to increase with the decoration of redox active binary nanocomposite on the conjugated network of GO which has showed maximum degradation of 94% in 130 min and 95% in 91 min for CR and MB respectively. Moreover, electrochemical and electroanalytical activity of the composite advocated excellent response towards detection of the sulfa drug, sulfamaxole. The proposed sensor platform exhibited quick response with excellent sensitivity (4.635 µA mM−1 cm−2), efficient charge transfer and a lower detection limit (0.036 µM). Additionally, the sensor system demonstrated excellent stability, good reproducibility and selective performance with little loss in activity. The increased degradation and excellent redox behaviour of composite nanostructure can be ascribed to increased photon absorption, efficient charge transfer across the interfaces and suppression of charge recombination. It is pertinent to mention that current study has paved the way to design multifunctional catalysts for mitigating the contamination legacy of persistent pollutants.