Rational design of novel 3D flower-like praseodymium molybdate anchored graphitic carbon Nitride: An efficient and sustainable photocatalyst for mitigation of carcinogenic pollutants

Abstract

The rational design of heterostructured praseodymium molybdate@polymeric graphitic carbon nitride (Pr6MoO12@g-C3N4) was effectively designed by a new chemical strategy in a hydrothermal environment and followed by an ultrasound-assisted route. The features of the as-fabricated Pr6MoO12@g-C3N4 nanocomposite was broadly investigated by various standard characterization techniques like p-XRD,SEM, TEM, XPS, BET, PL,UV-DRS. The fabricated photocatalyst was demonstrated that high crystallinity and crystalline size was 46.7 nm. Furthermore, the 50 mg catalyst and 5 ppm (mg/L) of pollutant concentration were optimized conditions for the highest photocatalytic decomposition results. Interestingly, the Pr6MoO12@g-C3N4 composite synergistic photocatalytic abilities via excellent reusable stability towards the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and methyl parathion (MPT) as removal of aquatic pollutants. More distinctively, the Pr6MoO12@g-C3N4 nanocomposite was deliberate in the decolouration rate of CIP and MPT under visible light radiation: 98 % CIP and 97 % of MPT degradation in just 70 and 40 min respectively. A plausible charge separation/transfer pathway where redox species experiments implicate •OH is the most essential role while h + and O2•−contributed to a lesser extent in the catalytic process. This research work presented a versatile nature of the Pr6MoO12@g-C3N4 heterostructured material for energy harvesting and application in environmental crises.