Facile one-step synthesis of highly efficient single oxide nanoparticles for photocatalytic application
Rabab Taourati, Mohamed Khaddor, Ali Laghzal, Achraf El Kasmi
Abstract
The present study work reports on facile MgO nanoparticles synthesis for Alizarin red S degradation. The obtained samples were comprehensively investigated in terms of structure, morphology, chemical composition, and functional groups; by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). The results showed that MgO samples present cubic structure with nano-sized crystallite of around 12 nm, and the characteristic Mg-O vibrational mode confirmed the MgO structure. The surface functional groups of nanoparticles of MgO involved in the photocatalytic process have been assessed using FTIR. The catalytic tests under UV irradiation exhibited a high efficiency of MgO for the degradation of Alizarin red S molecule that achieves around 80% degradation within just 20 min of treatment, with the capability of complete degradation during a short time. The interplay between this finding and the nanoparticles properties was discussed with the link to the very small crystallite size and surface functional groups of MgO photocatalysts in order to figure out the mechanism. So, the good photocatalytic efficiency is expected to be beneficial for other photocatalytic applications.