A Novel Approach for Generation of Oxygen Vacancies in Trirutile MnSb₂O₆ and Their Impact on Photocatalytic Degradation of MO Dye

Abstract

Visible light‐driven photocatalysis has gained much attention due to its light‐harnessing characteristics and is extensively used in wastewater remediation. This paper presents a novel oxygen‐deficient manganese antimonate, MnSb2O6‐x, with a trirutile structure as an effective visible‐light‐driven photocatalyst for dye degradation. The synthesized samples were subjected to XRD, UV‐Vis DRS, SEM‐EDS, Raman, XPS, and PL analyses to study their physic chemical properties. The influence of sequential or single heating during the preparation method on the generation of oxygen vacancies is evaluated using UV‐Vis DRS, XPS, ESR, and Raman techniques. The oxygen‐deficient MnSb2O6 could achieve up to 85 % of MO degradation in 180 min under visible light irradiation, and its reusability up to six cycles was also investigated. In addition, the mechanism of dye degradation was supported with a scavenger test, and the degradation activities are correlated to the electron‐hole pair separation as convinced from the PL spectra. The simple and unique method of oxygen vacancy generation can inspire the development of antimonates with oxygen deficiencies, which have significant scope of application in environmental and energy conservation.

Photocatalytic Evaluation and Application as a Sensor for the Toxic Atmospheres (Propane and Carbon Monoxide) of Nickel Antimonate (NiSb2O6) Powders

“…For example, Arunkumar and Naraginti [ 17 ] studied for the first time the photocatalytic activity (under visible light conditions) of CoSb 2 O 6 , CuSb 2 O 6 , NiSb 2 O 6 , and FeSb 2 O 6 for p-nitrophenol degradation. Liu et al [ 18 ] studied the photocatalytic effect of ZnSb 2 O 6 nanoparticles using the discoloration of rhodamine B and methyl orange (MO); Zhang et al [ 19 ] synthesized nanoparticles of CaSb 2 O 6 that showed high photocatalytic performance for the degradation of MO; Sunku et al [ 20 ] studied the degradation of MO by using MnSb 2 O 6 under visible light conditions; and Papi et al [ 21 ] synthesized NiSb 2 O 6 nanoparticles with high photocatalytic performance in the degradation of an aqueous solution of malachite green (MG). However, there have been few studies on trirutile-type antimonates applied in photocatalysis.…”