Synergistic effect of PCz/SnO2/MnO2 heterojunction nanocomposites for boosted photocatalytic performance induced by interfacial charge transfer

Abstract

PCz, SnO2/MnO2 (SMNC) binary and PCz/SnO2/MnO2 (PSM) ternary nanocomposites were fabricated by facile in-situ polymerization route. The prepared materials were characterized by various sophisticated techniques. PSM exhibited regular spherical like morphology and the agglomeration is reduced owing to the crystallization of SnO2/MnO2 on the surface of PCz, which provides high surface area for the acceleration of electron transfer process. The surface area of PSM is 38.47 m2/g which is higher than SMNC (25.64 m2/g) and PCz (4.0 m2/g). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study is performed to identify the photocatalytic behavior of the material and the charge dissociation of light induced electron-hole (e−/h+) pairs. The total weight loss observed for PSM is 9.3% at 900 °C, which indicates the high thermal stability than that of PCz. The photodegradation efficiency of PSM against CR dye under UV and natural daylight is 96.73 and 98.52%. The TOC analysis (66.6%) evidenced that the CR dye is mineralized effectively by PSM under sunlight. Scavenging test control experiment evidenced that the superoxide (*O2−) species played a crucial role in the photodegradation of CR dye. In addition to these, the material was recycled for 5 times with a minimal loss of degradation efficiency results in outstanding stability.