Multiwalled carbon nanotube supported indium doped zinc vanadate photocatalyst for enhanced degradation of acridine orange dye

Abstract

Acridine orange (AO) dye is one of the most widely used organic dye in various applications. However, acridine orange dye has some serious negative impacts for aquatic environments and human beings. Therefore, it is very crucial to monitor the presence of acridine orange dye. This work reported the design and synthesis of a novel composite material for the removal of acridine orange dye from aqueous solution. Herein, we reported the hydrothermal assisted synthesis of indium doped zinc vanadate (Zn₃V₂O₈) decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) composite. The phase purity, crystalline nature and formation of the In-ZnV@MWCNT composite have been authenticated by XRD. The structural properties such as surface morphology of the In-ZnV@MWCNT was examined by SEM and TEM studies. Other physiochemical properties of the In-ZnV@MWCNT composite were investigated by FTIR, XPS, UV–visible spectroscopy and EDX methods. Subsequently, photocatalytic activities of the In-ZnV@MWCNT have been determined under UV light. The 20 mg In-ZnV@MWCNT exhibited the highest performance for the photodegradation of AO dye under pH of 3. The highest photocatalytic AO dye degradation performance of more than 99.60% was achieved using In-ZnV@MWCNT. The In-ZnV@MWCNT also demonstrated good stability up to five cycles. Herein, we proposed a novel, eco-friendly, cost-effective, stable and highly efficient photocatalyst for the removal of AO dye.