Carboxymethyl chitosan derived Nx-C integrated with adjacent redox half reactions (MnCoSnO3): A dynamic contender for wastewater decontamination

Abstract

Construction of integrated photo-induced and spatially adjacent redox half reactions dual site photocatalysts to boost their synergy for practical applications renders substantial challenges. Here in Mn_0.5Sn₂Co_0.5O₃ (MSCO) was integrated with carboxymethyl chitosan derived N_x-C (CMChi-C) for the first time to fabricate Mn_0.5Sn₂Co_0.5O₃-CMChi-C (MSCO-CMChi-C) composite. The fabricated photocatalyst was investigated by various characterizations such as FTIR, XRD, EDS, XPS, SEM, H-NMR, HR-TEM, SAED etc. The composition, shape, morphology, structural information confirms the successful synthesis of MSCO-CMChi-C. The tailored MSCO-CMChi-C material achieved 95 % tetracycline (TCs) degradation which is 2.968, 1.301 and 0.84 times greater than SCO, MSCO, and MSCO@N-Chi-C respectively. Results showed that 73.15 % TCs photodegradation (2.29 times greater than SCO) executed by the spatial adjacent redox interface (MnCo) utilizing spin polarization to hinder charge recombination inside atomic vicinity of MSCO. The higher photocatalytic efficiency of MSCO-CMChi-C has stemmed by addressing persistent dysfunctions/defects succeeding in poor light harvesting ability of semiconductors, low carrier mobility and short exciton diffusion tailed with organic polymer. The MSCO-CMChi-C was further used for MB and EB dyes degradations, resulting in 90 and 96 % degradation in 40 min of visible light irradiation respectively. The higher photocatalytic activity of MSCO-CMChi-C resulted from conferring and integration of structural and functional characteristics of individual components. The spatial adjacent sites (MnCo) of MSCO facilitates redox reactions utilizing spin polarization at same time integration of the CMChi derived N_x-C enhances light sensitivity and charge mobility intrigue exceptional physiochemical properties exhibited by MSCO-CMChi-C.