Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic activity of quaternary selenide composite using natural sunlight

Abstract

For the degradation of textile dye Congo red, a novel quaternary selenide composite is synthesized successfully by using hydrothermal process. The characterization of prepared composite is done by SEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR and UV–VIS spectroscopy. XRD analysis confirms the crystal structure is orthorhombic. All peaks of XRD pattern satisfy the chemical composition of quaternary selenide composite. The crystalline size (D) is 10.5 nm which is calculated through XRD by applying Debye Scherer’s formula. SEM shows the morphology of composite whereas the average particle size and rod size is also calculated by using histogram which is 0.2 µm and the rod size is 0.14 µm. EDX shows the existence of all important elements. FTIR spectrum of quaternary selenide composite is observed in the range of 500–4000 cm−1 and all peaks are observed in the fingerprint region (< 1500 cm−1). The prepared sample have band gap of 2.01 eV. Photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized was studied by degrading the Congo red (CR) dye under direct sunlight and in 60 min 86.9% photocatalytic efficiency was achieved.