In this work, a simple strategy for the synthesis of hetero‐nanostructured Ni/α‐Mn2O3 via surfactant‐aided co‐reduction method is reported. The as synthesized Ni/α‐Mn2O3 is applied as catalytic material for the aqueous phase reduction of 4‐nitrophenol (4‐NP) and organic dye pollutants, namely Rhodamine B (RhB), Methylene blue (MB), Rose Bengal (RB), Congo red (CR), and Methyl orange (MO) in the presence of a mild reducing agent, NaBH4. This synthetic route provides homogeneous dispersion of Ni nanoparticles over α‐Mn2O3 surface. The nanoparticles and support are characterized using XRD, SEM/EDX, TEM, AAS and BET surface area analyses. The Ni particles are spherical, crystalline and size ranges < 5 nm. Further, hetero‐nanostructured Ni/α‐Mn2O3 is established as a highly efficient recyclable catalyst for the reduction of 4‐NP to 4‐aminophenol (4‐AP). The HPLC and FTIR analysis shows that 4‐AP is the sole product of the reduction of 4‐NP. The Ni/α‐Mn2O3 also exhibits high activity towards reduction of cationic and anionic dye pollutants. Thus, the as synthesized hetero‐nanostructured Ni/α‐Mn2O3 can be considered as the future contender for the wastewater treatment.
Herein, a simple solvothermal synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride nanosphere (g-CNN) at 180 ºC is
reported. The photocatalytic activity of g-CNN was studied under an in-house developed white light
emitting diode (WLED) reactor and characterized by FESEM, PXRD, FTIR, EDX, UV-visible
spectroscopy and BET isotherm. The g-CNN has absorbance in visible light region and exhibits
enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to bulk graphitic carbon nitride (BGCN) for
photodegradation of methylene blue, which attributes to its lower surface area. The photocatalytic
performance of g-CNN as function of pH of dye solution and catalyst amount were also studied. The
g-CNN can be used for three repeated cycles with minimal change in photocatalytic efficiency. The
solvothermal synthesis method at relative low temperature introduces terminal oxygen functionalities
in g-CNN, which enhance light absorption and accelerate electron transfer results in improvement of
photocatalytic efficiency of g-CNN. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of g-CNN as a
photocatalyst for the treatment of water using visible light from WLED.
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