pH-tuned Mn-doped MoO₃ Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Degradation of Sulfanilamide in Pharmaceutical Effluents
J. Environ. Nanotechnol., Volume 14, No 2 (June 2025) pp. 208-215
Abstract
Molybdenum trioxide (MoO₃) holds significant promise in fields such as photocatalysis, optoelectronics, and pharma effluent applications owing to its distinct structural, optical, and photocatalytic characteristics due to its tunable characteristics. Here, MoO₃ was synthesized with Manganese dopant through a simple wet-chemical method, with pH levels adjusted to 9.0, 10.0, and 11.0. Characterization techniques, including Structural analysis (XRD), field emission morphological analysis, photoluminescence, and optical spectroscopy, were employed to assess the material's properties. XRD results indicated minor changes in crystallite dimensions and lattice strain across different pH conditions, while FE-SEM images revealed morphological evolution from layered architectures to distributed nanoscale particles. PL and UV-Vis spectroscopy confirmed that the optical bandgap and defect-related emissions varied with pH, illustrating tunable optical behavior. Furthermore, the efficiency of degrading the Sulfanilamide was assessed using UV-Vis spectroscopy. To better understand the degradation mechanism, scavenger experiments were conducted, revealing that EDTA-2Na, a hole (h⁺) scavenger, played a significant role, indicating that photogenerated holes are the primary active species in the process. Under UV light exposure, the Mn-doped MoO₃ nanocomposite demonstrated outstanding photocatalytic activity, achieving 84.7% degradation of Sulfanilamide – a removal of pharmaceutical effluent within 90 minutes.
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