Photocatalytic removal of o-Nitro phenol using phyto-assisted synthesized NiO/CdS@g-GO catalyst

Abstract

In this study, a new and sustainable photocatalyst of NiO/CdS@g-GO was biogenically synthesized from plants. The extract of mushroom plants, okra plants, and okra butts were used for green synthesis of CdS-NPs, NiO-NPs, and GO, respectively. Various characterization tools were applied, such as FTIR, XRD, SEM, XPS, and zeta potential analysis to ensure the successful preparation of the NiO/CdS@g-GO composite. The effective parameters in the photocatalytic degradation of o-NP were investigated, like pH, temperature, the initial concentration of o-NP, and catalyst dose. The catalyst showed maximum degradation efficiency for o-NP reached 92.16 % within 120 min, dose = 0.01g at pH = 6 and 25 °C. The kinetic study of the o-NP photodegradation process by NiO/CdS@g-GO composite was scrutinized by First-order and Second-order kinetic models. Finally, the quenching experiment and the mechanism study suggested the main ROS that controls the photocatalytic degradation process of o-NP by using NiO/CdS@g-GO composite. The GC-MS analysis was used to demonstrate the produced intermediates during the degradation of o-NP.