Nuclear chemistry

Catalysis

Engineering

Oxide

Photocurrent

Photodegradation

Photochemistry

Metallurgy

Materials science

Rhodamine B

Rhodamine

Nanocomposite

Telecommunications

Molecule

Computer science

Chemical engineering

Visible spectrum

Physics

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Optics

Degradation (telecommunications)

Fluorescence

Composite material

Nanomaterials

Chemistry

Scanning electron microscope

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Photocatalysis

Rhodamine 6G

Optoelectronics

Optical Materials

In this study, a novel nanocomposite of magnesium oxide doped graphene oxide (MgO@GO) visible-light driven photocatalyst was successfully synthesized for model Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) degradation. This photocatalyst was comprehensively investigated to justify the morphology, structure, functional groups and chemical composition by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and SEM-Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS mapping). Four different methods were initially studied i.e. sun light, tungsten light (50 W), stirring and aeration separately for degradation of Rh6G (30 mL of 1 ppm) and obtained results as 33%, 61%, 25% and 7% within 6 h respectively. The new method was developed for combination of different techniques to achieve high efficiency of photocatalyst. The combination of three methods i.e. tungsten light (50 W), stirring (450 rpm) and aeration (4 L/min) delivered 98% degradation of Rh6G (30 mL of 1 ppm) within 15 min without any aid of scavenger. This is due to excellent enhancement of favorable photo-generated holes, hydroxyl radicals and higher photocurrent response intensity of MgO@GO compared to MgO and GO. It also reflects the synergistic effect of GO to enhance the charge separation efficiency. Additionally, a comparative evaluation of the photodegradation performance of MgO@GO, MgO and GO nanomaterials was also carried out. This work reveals that, a rational combination of GO and MgO can lead the efficient photocatalytic degradation of recalcitrant organic pollutants such as Rh6G.

Synthesis of novel visible light driven MgO@GO nanocomposite photocatalyst for degradation of Rhodamine 6G