Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity of visible-light-driven Mn3O4 and reduced graphene oxide- Mn3O4 nanocomposite
M.A. MousaM.M. Rashad, M.M. Mokhtar , Mahmoud E. El Shazli
Abstract:
Simple methods have been used to prepare rGO, Mn3O4 (M) and rGO-Mn3O4 (rGO-M) nanocomposite. The prepared samples were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, BET, TEM, , Photoluminescence (PL), and UV-vis absorption techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FT-IR confirmed the formation of rGO-M nanocomposites and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study revealed that M nanomaterials with average size 75 nm were embedded on rGO surface. Under visible light illumination both M and rGO-M were successfully degrade the MB organic dye in water with more efficiency for the nanocomposite sample due to high surface area of rGO. The dye degradations were investigated under several experimental parameters such as pH, catalyst load, dye concentration, and catalyst recovery. The rGO-M nanocomposite sample showed good photostability after five cycling process. A photocatalytic mechanism has been propsed for the photodegradation process.