Biologically reduced graphene oxide as a green and easily available photocatalyst for degradation of organic dyes

The disposal of untreated textile industrial wastewater having unmanageable pollutants is a global issue. Ecofriendly remediation technology is needed for the removal of environmental contaminants. In this study, a simple hydrothermal method is adapted to synthesis reduced graphene oxide (PErGO) using Phyllanthus emblica fruits extract and used as a photocatalyst for the degradation of synthetic toxic dyes. The physicochemical properties of green synthesized PErGO are confirmed using UV?Vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction. The ID/IG ratio is found as 1.02 for GO which is improved to 1.15 for PErGO, which confirms the existence of unrepaired defects after the elimination of negatively charged O2 moieties from the surface of GO. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis show well-exploited PErGO morphology. The photocatalytic removal of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) dyes is confirmed using UV?vis spectrophotometer. PErGO shows about 92% of MO and 91% of MB degradation within 90 min of sunlight exposure while carried out as a mixed dye degradation. The sustainability of this catalyst is confirmed by testing it for five subsequent degradation cycles and noticed a stable and significant degradation activity. Outcomes from this study suggest that eco-friendly PErGO can be used as an alternate sustainable material to treat a large volume of wastewater from various dye industries.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the use of eco-friendly hydrothermal synthesis of PErGO for treating industrial wastewater containing toxic dyes. The results show that PErGO exhibits high photocatalytic degradation efficiency towards harmful substances like methylene blue and methyl orange, with stable and significant activity observed over multiple degradation cycles, making it suitable for dye industry wastewater treatment.