Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of LaMnO3/rGO nanocomposites under the irradiation of solar spectrum for methylene blue
Vaishali Misra, Manisha Yadav, Deepak Kumar, Jehova Jire L. Hmar, Vishal Singh, Sanjeev K. Sharma
Abstract
This study presents the synthesis of pristine LaMnO 3 (LMO) perovskite nanoparticles (NPs) and LMO/rGO nanocomposites (NCs) incorporating 5, 10, and 20 wt.% of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) through an ultrasonicated sol-gel method. The structural, morphological, and optical properties were determined from X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The microstructure and crystallite size of NCs were observed as hexagonal perovskite structures in the 23.4 - 20.1 nm range. The specific surface area of LMO NPs and LMO/rGO NCs were observed to be 6.63 m²/g and 21.39 m²/g, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of NCs was estimated to be responsible for methylene blue (MB) degradation under sunlight irradiation. The LMO/rGO10 NC showed the highest photocatalytic degradation with a degradation rate of 0.00927 min -1 and the highest stability due to increased catalytic active sites. The LMO/rGO NCs hold the potential for the photocatalytic degradation of discharged dyes from textile industries under natural sunlight irradiation.