Investigation on performance of Eu:GO:KSrPO4 nanocomposite for MB dye photocatalytic degradation: Experimental and ANN modeling

Abstract

Ultrasonic-assisted synthesis of Eu-doped GO/KSrPO4 (Eu:GO/KSrPO4) nanocomposite has been accomplished in this work for its application for photocatalytic degradation of dye. Formation of the Eu:GO/KSrPO4 nanocomposite photocatalyst was confirmed through various characterization (SEM, UV/vis, and XRD) techniques. Additionally, experiments on photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye from wastewater allowed determination of photocatalytic activity of the produced nanocomposite material. Influence of different factors including Eu3+ ion concentration in KSrPO4:Eu3+ phosphor in the nanocomposite and other process parameters like catalyst dosage, amount of dye present in feed, pH, and synthesis technique was also assessed. A maximum percent removal of 82.75% of the dye was achieved for ultrasonically prepared Eu:GO/KSrPO4 photocatalyst with 0.5 mol.% Eu3+ ion doping at catalyst dose of 1 mg/ml, amount of dye present in feed of 20 ppm, and pH 10.56. ANN modeling was accomplished to predict the % methylene blue dye removal using prepared photocatalyst.