Graphene decorated long single crystalline Mn2O3 nanorods: Facile Synthesis and visible light photocatalyst

The photocatalytic decolorization of methylene blue (MB) dye has been successfully explored by various mass ratios of graphene decorated 1D Mn2O3 nanocomposites and pure Mn2O3 under visible light illumination. The structural, morphological, functional groups and optical properties of the synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, Raman, SEM, FE-SEM with EDS, FT-IR, and UV-Vis analysis, respectively. XRD and FESEM results show that alpha-phase Mn2O3 structure and randomly oriented nanorods on the graphene sheets. The optical bandgap properties of 1D Mn2O3-Graphene nanocomposites were ranging from 3.4 eV - 2.5 eV. It was observed that 1D Mn2O3-Graphene nanocomposite (GM-3) exhibits the highest rate of photocatalytic dye degradation efficiency compared to other nanocomposites (GM-1, GM-2, and GM-4). A scavenger study revealed that center dot OH and center dot O2 were the main active species playing vital roles in the photodegradation process. The mechanism for the decolorization of MB by 1D Mn2O3-Graphene nanocomposites is also proposed.

Automated summary

This study successfully explored the photocatalytic decolorization of methylene blue dye using graphene decorated 1D Mn2O3 nanocomposites, revealing the key active species involved in the process. The research also demonstrated the different optical properties and efficiencies of nanocomposites with varying mass ratios.