Real-time quality monitoring and organic pollutants degradation of water using atomically thin Magnesiochromite

Abstract

Here, we report the synthesis of atomically thin Magnesiochromite by an easily scalable liquid-phase exfoliation method. Two-dimensional (2D) MgCr2O4 was studied in detail by microscopy analysis. Thickness and average lateral dimensions of the 2D sheets, measured by atomic force microscopy were 4–5 nm and 100–350 nm respectively. Formation of atomically thin structure was also confirmed by Raman spectroscopy which also confirmed the phonon confinement along 2D. Catalytic activity of the 2D MgCr2O4 was studied under visible light and ultrasonic irradiation. Organic dye pollutants such as Methylene Blue, Methyl Orange, and Rhodamine B dye shows degradation efficiency of ∼98.6% within 20 min. The hydrophilic nature of the 2D catalyst is fruitfully utilized by the self-cleaning of cotton fabric and ∼67% decolorization was observed within 3 h of sunlight irradiation. Additionally, a smartphone-based colorimetric measurement technique was used to study the degradation efficiency of the catalyst making it cost efficient and user friendly.