3.1. Adsorption of Cationic Dyes on Nanomaterials
Two different processes (Calix-MNPs and Calix-Si-MNPs) were used to modify magnetite nanoparticles with p-sulfonatocalix[
6]arene and were used for the removal of Crystal Violet from aqueous solution [
97]. Calix-Si-MNPs showed a better adsorption capacity than Calix-MNPs, attributable to the modification on the surface of magnetite nanoparticles through a spacer. The nanoadsorbent can be recovered using a magnet, however, there was a considerable lost of capacity up to four cycles of adsorption (pH 7)-desorption (water plus acetone).
In this work [
98], amorphous and crystalline products based on Zr, Mg, and Mn were fabricated through the Pechini sol–gel procedure and used to remove Basic Fuchsin dye from solutions. Samples fabricated before calcination was amorphous, whereas the samples calcined at 500° C or 700° C presented mean diameters of 45.16 nm and 76.28 nm, respectively.
Figure 1 showed that increasing the temperature of calcination the dye uptake onto the nanomaterials decreased. Maximum dye uptake varies in the 93-240 mg/g concentrations range.
Succinic anhydride modifying the surface of native cellulose nanocrystals was used to adsorb Golden Yellow and Methylene Blue. No data about the desorption step were given in the work [
99].
Bionanocomposites formed of chitosan grafted by various monomers, such as acrylamide, acrylic acid, 4-styrene sulfonic acid, and hybrid nanoparticles of graphene oxide/titanium dioxide nanoparticles (GO@TiO
2-NPs) were fabricated and used in the adsorption of Basic-Red 46 [
100]. The removal of the dye from the aqueous solution followed the pseudo second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models, with maximum upload in the 43-79 mg/g range..
Food industry waste hazelnut shells were used as precursors to prepare, via impregnation with ZnCl
2 followed by chemical activation with KOH, porous carbon materials to be used as adsorbents of a Methylene Blue-wastewater [
101]. The Fusso effect, which can reduce the size of the dye molecules, increased the adsorption properties of the carbon. The material showed a dye uptake of 694.03 mg/g, which can be increased to 882.46 mg/g in 0.1 M NaCl medium.
Calcium silicate nanopowders were fabricated from marble sawing dust and silica fume using microwave irradiation-assisted route. These nanomaterials were investigated in the removal of Malachite Green from solutions in the pH 2-12 range, with best results yielded (near 100% removal) at the pH of 12. Adsorption data fitted well with the linear form of the Freundlich isotherm. Dye-desorption was investigated by the use of acetone; after continuous adsorption-desorption cycles, it was shown that after six cycles the adsorption efficiency decreased from 100% (first cycle) to 78% (sixth cycle). This decrease attributable to the decrease in the number of the surface-active sites after continuous use [
102].
Under the polyol process, FePt nanoparticles with a size less than 2 nm, were uniformly distributed over the surface of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets. These materials were used in the adsorption of Methylene Blue, Methylene Violet and Brilliant Green [
103]. The removal of the dyes from the solution depended on the composition of the nanomaterial used in the experimentation and the annealing temperature (
Figure 2). However, no data about the desorption step were provided in the published manuscript.
A nanomanufacturing process which included the treatment of α-chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) by electron-beam irradiation, EBI-induced ChNCs, with nano-sized and rod-like morphology with tunable lengths averaging 259-608 nm and uniform widths of 12-16 nm, were formed [
104]. The anionic groups presented in the nanomaterials reacted with Toluidine Blue O dye via electrostatic attraction, forming hydrogels, which were self-supporting after centrifugation. No desorption data were included in the manuscript.
Nano-sized polylactic acid was decorated on the surface of graphene oxide to investigate it performance on the removal of Methylene Blue from an aqueous solution [
105]. Optimum adsorption parameters were: adsorbent dosage of 0.5 g/L, pH 4, reaction time of two hours, and 45º C. Data fitted with the Langmuir isotherm with maximum uptakes in the 104-224 mg/g range. Experimental results showed that the loading capacity of the polylactic acid-graphene oxide nanoadsorbent increased near 70% in comparison with that of sulphur oxide. The nanoadsorbent presented a loss of near 27% adsorption efficiency after five cycles.
Using the co-precipitation method, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) with size of 13.6±1.9 nm were synthesized [
106]. Further, the surface of SPIONs was modified by polyvinyl alcohol, chitosan, and graphene oxide, and the modified nanomaterials were used to adsorb Methylene Blue. Removal efficiency at pH 7 reached near 87% after 13 days, and the highest dye loading capacity was 3.6 mg/g, while the highest loading amount achieved was 36.4 mg/g. The cumulative desorption capacity of the adsorbent at pH 3.8 was at its maximum at almost 9.0% after 30 days.
Tin oxide nanorods and SnO
2/MoO
3 nanocomposite were fabricated, via the use of the leaf extract of
Magnifera indica, the presence of polyphenols in the extract facilitated the reduction of the precursor metal salt to the corresponding oxide [
107]. The catalytic properties of the above materials were investigated on the degradation of Methylene blue. The photocatalytic efficiency of the mixture of oxides improved to 73% as compared to that of SnO
2 (69.0%).
In this reference [
108], Zn-modified biochar obtained from zinc carbonate and Jerusalem artichokes straw was used to explore its effect on the adsorption of Methylene Blue. Compared with the original biochar, the specific surface area (1037.17 m
2/g) of the Zn-modified biochar by pyrolysis at 800° C (Zn-BC 800) increased approximately 22 times. The adsorption of Methylene Blue with Zn-BC 800 followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. At 45° C, Zn-BC 800 had a maximum adsorption loading of 477.13 mg/g. Hydrogen bond and π-π interaction were the main responsible for the dye adsorption onto Zn-BC 800. The adsorbent lost its initial dye uptake of near 420 mg/g until 350 mg/g in the fifth cycle, in these series of experiments, anhydrous ethanol and distilled water were used as eluent.
Yellow phosphorus slag was used to develop a SiO
2 matrix material, which was loaded with MgO, and then the formed composite was investigated as adsorbent of Malachite Green dye [
109]. These investigations demonstrated that when using this composite, a maximum dye adsorption rate of 97.72 % was reached, with a dye uptake of 115.64 mg/g, experimental data responded well to the Freundlich isotherm. In this case, 0.1 M sodium chloride medium was utilized to desorb the loaded dye, after four cycles of continuous use there was a slight decrease in the adsorption efficiency.
3.3.(. Photo)-Catalytic Degradation of Cationic Dyes Using Nanomaterials
Pure Fe
2O
3 (FO with 46 nm particle size) and a series of 5%, 10% and 15% Ni doped Fe
2O
3 (5-NFO, 10-NFO and 15-NFO) nanoparticles (19 nm particle size) were synthesized to investigate the effect of nickel concentration on the photocatalytic activity on Methylene Blue degradation [
111]. The highest dye degradation was yielded using 10-NFO nanoparticles and 100 min of reaction time. The optimal concentration of 10-NFO accelerated the photoreduction of the dye due to the photocatalyst characteristics to trap electrons.
Pristine Fe
2O
3 hematite and Nb-doped Fe
2O
3 nanostructures with different doping concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 15% of niobium, were used to investigate the degradation of Methylene Blue [
112]. After 100 min of exposure to visible light, the highest level of dye degradation was attained by 10%-NFO composition. The photocatalytic properties of doped Fe
2O
3 was attributed to a decrease in band gap energy.
Mn
4(P
2O
7)
3 nanoflakes were synthesized and used to remove Methylene Blue from water [
113]. The electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged group of the nanoflakes and dye cationic molecules ruled the adsorption process; further, the dye was degraded
via a heterogeneous catalytic process performed at basic pH in the presence of H
2O
2 and reactive oxygen species production. After 30 min and using an initial dye concentration of 40 mg/L, the degradation rate reached 99.2%.
Rhodamine B was degraded by a photocatalytic process, under direct sunlight, by the use of sol-immobilization synthesized monometallic (Pd and Au) and bimetallic (Pd-Au) hybrid nanomaterials supported on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) [
114]. Bimetallic Au-Pd-rGO composites had better catalytic efficiencies than mono-metals-rGO nanomaterials. Under the best formulation (Au0.75-Pd0.25/rGO), the degradation efficiency reached 98%, whereas the nanocomposite can be used for five cycles maintaining 89% of its activity.
The degradation of Methylene blue and Rhodamine B had been investigated using cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (CdSNPs, average size less than 20 nm) encapsulated by natural extract [
115]. These nanoparticles were synthesized
via green chemical reduction route that uses natural stabilizers such as rice water, papaya fruit extracts and precursors such as cadmium chloride, cadmium nitrate, and cadmium sulphur.
Cerium doped cobalt-magnesium ferrites Co
0.7Mg
0.3Ce
xFe
2xO
4 were prepared and used to investigate its potential as degrading agent against Methylene Blue [
116]. The nanocomposite with x= 0.1 presented a degradation efficiency of near 95.5% in one hour, with free radicals O
2·-and OH
. acting as the active species to promote dye degradation, which produced CO
2 and water as final products. This material presented a near constant recyclability efficiency after five cycles (95.5%-94.8%).
The next investigation used ZnO–NPs from milky sap of
Calotropis procera parts to degrade Malachite Green and Methylene Blue under UV-light exposure [
117]. The degradation efficiency reached 85.3% (Malachite Green) and 86.3% (Methylene Blue), being, in both cases, increased the efficiency from pH 4 to pH 10.
A soft nanocomposite hydrogel, comprising a pyrene-based chiral amphipath having an amino acid (l-phenylalanine) core with pendant oligo-oxyethylene hydrophilic chains and sulphur oxide, was used in the degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B [
118]. Experimental results indicated that the removal efficiency was better in the case of Methylene Blue than Rhodamine B.
Montmorillonite K30 nanosheets were decorated with
Carrisa edulis fruit extract capped spherical shape Co
3O
4 nanoparticles (size of 11.25 nm) to degrade methylthioninium chloride (Methylene Blue) [
119]. Attributable to the generation of OH and O
2 radicals, the 20% loaded Co
3O
4 on MK30 nanocomposites had the best photocatalytic performance (near 98%) on exposing to visible light.
0.2CoFe
2O
4/0.8TiO
2-5%La nanocomposite was prepared, by a co-precipitation and hydrothermal process, to be used as a high activity photocatalyst for degradation of Methylene Blue under visible light irradiation [
120]. This dye was degraded by 99% after 50 min of exposure time to the light.
Pure phased rare earth doped ZnO nanoparticles were fabricated for the degradation of Malachite Green and Crystal Violet [
121]. For these dyes, the maximum degradation efficiency was near 98% when dysprosium doped ZnO nanoparticles were used to degrade the dyes. A tailored band gap and the presence of defects, which helped in the creation of a reactive species were the main responsible for dyes degradation.
Ionic mesoporous organosilica (IMOS) forming a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-linked bis-imidazolium chloride framework was prepared for the selective recovery of tungstate ions from wastewater and its further use as a photocatalyst against the presence of Rhodamine B in waters [
122]. Under column experiments, a maximum recovery of tungstate ions (123 mg/g) was reached using a bed height of 3 cm and a flow rate of 3 mL/min. The use of this W(VI)-immobilized IMOS (W-IMOS), oxidized Rhodamine B through successive adsorption (30%) in the dark and photocatalytic degradation (66%) under UV-vis light irradiation.
Nanomaterials containing the SrMoO
4/g-C
3N
4 heterostructure were synthesized in a single step by the sonochemical method at controlled temperatures, further, these nanomaterials were used to degrade some cationic dyes [
123]. The results of the photocatalytic investigations showed that the insertion of CN promoted photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue (99.58%), Rhodamine B (100%) and Crystal Violet (98.65%).
Two nanocomposites were prepared with varying compositions of ZnO and acid-activated kaolinite for use as photocatalysts to degrade Methylene Blue [
124]. The ZK-30 nanocomposite (30 wt% ZnO) removed 98% of the dye from an aqueous solution of pH 10. The recyclability experiments about the continuous use of the nanocomposites showed 80–99 % dye removal for up to three consecutive photocatalytic cycles.
N/p-type nanomaterials loaded on the surface of cellulose nanoparticles had been used to fabricate hybrid nanomaterials to be used in the photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B dyes [
125]. In single dye solutions, the degradation efficiency reached 95% for Methylene Blue and 47.4% in the case of Rhodamine B dye, whereas in a mixed dye solution the degradation reached 53% and 89.8% for Rhodamine B and Methylene Blue, respectively.
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles were prepared by a sol-gel process and calcined for 2 h at temperatures in the 300° C- 600° C range [
126]. The increase of the calcination temperature produced an increase in the size of the nanoparticles. The photodegradation performance of these nanoparticles was investigated in the removal of 10 ppm Methylene Blue from water, showing the nanomaterial calcined at 400° C the best efficiency (near 95%) over the other nanoparticles examined in this work.
The tannic acid coating method was utilized to synthesize Ag nanoparticles-loaded ultralong hydroxyapatite (HAP). The nanowires were employed as building blocks together with chitosan (CS) to fabricate highly porous flow-through reactors (Ag@HAP/CS) for continuous catalytic reduction of Methylene Blue [
127]. These nanomaterials presented efficiencies of near 99% at high fluxes, i.e. 2000 L/m
2·h, and using a very low concentration of NaBH
4 i.e. dye:NaBH
4 of 1.
Pseudobrookite (Fe
2TiO
5) was fabricated and used in the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B [
128]. The degradation process was associated with the adsorption of protons and the formation of an electron-hole pair. The nanomaterial thermally treated under nitrogen atmosphere presented better catalytic activity than those fabricated in air.
This reference [
129], described the use of natural cotton substrates and the in situ mineralization of β-FeOOH nanorods as precursors in the synthesis of an inorganic–organic compound semiconductor nanomaterials (Cot-FeOOH). These materials had photocatalytic activity (98%) for Rhodamine B dye under visible light irradiation and in the presence of hydrogen peroxide.
Fe
3O
4 nanoparticles with a size of (350±50 nm) were synthesized by solvothermal method. Then, the nanoparticles were coated with a shell made of 3-aminophenol-formaldehyde (APF) resin to prevent agglomeration, and further, core–shell Fe
3O
4@APF nanospheres were produced by polycondensation within 10 min [
130]. The magnetic Fe
3O
4@APF@Ag nanomaterials catalyzed the reduction,
via the use of sodium borohydride, of Rhodamine B and Methylene Blue dyes, with conversion of these chemicals above 90% within 3 min of reaction time and a slight decrease in the reduction efficiency after seven cycles.
Ag
2O nanoparticles, with cubic structure and crystalline diameter of 18.5 nm, were prepared and used in the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B [
131]. The exposure of an aqueous solution containing the dye to UV-visible light during one hour produced a 76 % reduction of the compound. The main responsible in the degradation process were the reactions with super oxide radical (O
2•) and the hydroxyl radical (
•OH).
Nanoparticles (average size of 1.87 nm) composed of Fe
3O
4/Mn
3O
4/CuO were used as nanocatalyst in the degradation of Methylene Blue under ultrasonic conditions [
132]. The degradation of the dye was investigated under various experimental conditions, being the best of these conditions: temperature of 28
o C, 0.03 g/L of initial dye concentration, 1.0 g/L of nanoparticles dosage, 5 mM of H
2O
2, and 60 kHz. A maximum of 95.04% dye degradation using these nanoparticles was reached after 150 min.
Using attapulgite (ATP) as carrier, Fe
3O
4 and g-C
3N
4 were grafted onto ATP, and the surface was then modified with polyethyleneimine (PEI) to produce photocatalyst ATP-Fe
3O
4-g-C
3N
4-PEI, which was used in the treatment of a Malachite Green-bearing wastewater [
133]. Electron paramagnetic resonance analysis confirmed that the nanocomposite generated hydroxyl radicals (·OH) and superoxide radicals (·O
2-) which degraded the dye. Under the action of H
+, ·O
2-, and ·OH, a removal rate of 98% was reached at pH 3. Recyclability experiments showed that there was a continuous degradation of the photocatalyst from the first (98% dye removal efficiency) to the fourth (65% dye removal efficiency) cycle.
The controlled synthesis of bismuth with various morphologies: nanoparticles (20-50 nm), nanorods (diameter of 20 nm and length 1 µm) nanocubes (150-200 nm) and micro-spheres (10 µm) has been investigated [
134]. The degradation efficiency, after 90 minutes of exposure to visible-light irradiation, against the presence of Rhodamine B in solutions were 99.9%, 98.9%, 97% and 68.3% for the above morphologies, respectively. The catalytic activity of the same morphologies increased with the decrease of pH value, maintaining a removal rate of 73.5% after forty cycles. Remarkably, this is a work which investigates the reusability of these adsorbents for a number of cycles as high as 40, when the ordinary number rarely exceeded five cycles.
Superparamagnetic Fe
3O
4 nanoparticles synthesized via an electrochemical procedure were used as a catalyst for the oxidation of Rhodamine B in a photo-Fenton-like process [
135]. The rate of color removal was 85% after 12 minutes at dye concentration of 2 mg/L, H
2O
2 concentration of 0.18 mM, and Fe
3O
4 concentration of 0.2 g/L. In addition, electrochemically synthesized superparamagnetic Fe
3O
4 nanoparticles showed that the catalyst activity decreased from 85% in the first cycle to 78% in the fifth cycle.
Silver chromate/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites (Ag
2CrO
4/rGO NCs) with a narrow dissemination size were used for the removal of Methylene Blue [
136]. The photodegradation of the dye was carried out under solar light irradiation. Experimental results indicated removal efficiencies of near 92% after one hour of irradiation, result which compared well with the results reached by pure Ag
2CrO
4 (46%) and rGO (30%) nanomaterials. The nanocomposites maintained their efficiency to degrade for up to five cycles.
The spherical shaped monoclinic structures, ZnO (24.9 nm) and CuO (17.0 nm) nanoparticles and ZnO/CuO (22.6 nm) nanocomposites were synthesized using extract of
Musa acuminate fruit peel as the stabilizing and capping agent [
137]. Degradation investigations on Methylene Blue had been carried out using these nanomaterials under a visible light source. ZnO, CuO, and ZnO/CuO showed degradation efficiencies of 57%, 50%, and 90%, respectively.
Polypyrrole (Ppy)-In
2O
3 nanoparticles hybrids were fabricated to leverage its superoxide radical decomposition for Methylene Blue degradation [
138].
The nanoemulsion procedure was utilized to synthesize Bi
xSn
6−2xS
y (0.33≤x≤ 2.95) photocatalysts with morphological structures that changed from nanowhiskers to quantum dots [
139]. Particularly, BiSn
4S
4.5 formulation, photodegraded Methylene Blue in the shortest time under UV-visible light (
Table 6).
Copper oxide (CuO) was used to dope tin oxide (SnO
2) in order to yield a heterostructured photocatalyst, which were used in the degradation of Methylene Blue [
140]. The oxides mixture degraded the dye with 90% efficiency in three hours, which improved the results derived with the use of SnO
2.
Black titanium dioxide (BTO) nanoparticles were formed, using pulsed laser irradiation in liquids, from de-ionized water, isopropyl alcohol, and 1:1 mixtures of water and alcohol [
141]. Photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue was improved at neutral pH values of the solution. This degradation occurred
via reaction of the dye with ·OH, O
2·-and ·OOH radicals to produce CO
2 and water. The efficiency decay, for every adsorbent, approximately 10% after continuous use (three cycles), though for the four adsorbents tested, only BTOWA degraded the dye at 54% in the first cycle.
Ag-manganese oxide, with plasmon-enhanced photocatalytic activity, the photodegradation of Crystal Violet dye was formed. Manganese oxide was prepared by an acidic precipitation method using potassium permanganate, manganese acetate, and nitric acid as precursors. Silver nanoparticles were deposited on the manganese oxide using leaf extracts of
Calotropis gigantean [
142]. The deposition of silver increased the photocatalytic activity of the manganese oxide from 68 to 95%. By the use of 10% Ag-OMS, near 100, 95, and 75% efficiencies in the photodegradation of 50, 100, and 150 mg/L dye concentrations was observed in 90, 120, and 120 min, respectively. After three cycles of activity, the efficiency to degrade the dye was maintained above 90%.
Pristine and carboxylic acid (CXA)-modified MIL-53 (Al) nanostructures were used to investigate its performance on the adsorption of Rhodamine B and Methylene Blue from solutions [
143]. The incorporation of the acidic function to MIL-53 (Al) produced an increase of the adsorption capacity, though Rhodamine B was adsorbed better than Methylene Blue due to its higher adsorption energy.
Cellulose acetate/polycaprolactone (CA/PCL)-based nanocomposites with manganese tungstate (MnWO
4) nanoparticles were formed, and used on the Crystal Violet photocatalytic degradation under UV light source [
144]. The photocatalytic efficacy of the CA/PCL/MnWO
4 nanocomposites was higher to that of the individual components.
2D layered molybdenum disulphide/boron nitrate/reduced graphene oxide (MoS
2by/BN/rGO) ternary nanocomposites was formed by sonication assisted hydrothermal procedure, and its potential to treat water contaminated with Methylene Blue was investigated [
145]. The nanocomposite ability to degrade the dye reached 98% after 45 min, with a ten percent loss of effectiveness, with respect to the first cycle, in the seventh cycle. The presence of superoxide radicals (·O
2-) and hydroxyl radicals (·OH
-) were responsible for the degradation process.
TiO
2 nanotubes were annealed in the 400-900° C temperatures range to yield different nanomaterials and marked as TiO
2 ST-NT, moreover, part of these nanopowders were decorated with Fe
3O
4 nanoparticles to form TiO
2 ST-NT@Fe
3O
4NPs [
146]. These nanocompounds were investigated for the photocatalytic decomposition of Methylene Blue under UV light. The best photocatalytic activity of TiO
2 ST-NT and TiO
2 ST-NT@Fe
3O
4NPs were yielded at annealing temperatures of 600 and 700° C, respectively.
Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C
3N
4) photocatalysts were prepared using mixtures of urea and thiourea, as precursors, by varying calcination temperatures ranging from 500 to 650° C for three hours in air medium, and used to remove Rhodamine B from liquid solutions [
147]. The results showed that Rhodamine B removal by g-C
3N
4 formed at 600 °C was near 95% within three hours of visible LED light irradiation
NiMn
2O
4 nanoparticles had been prepared through PEG assisted hydrothermal method. This Ni4 nanosphere was used as a visible light photocatalyst for the degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B dyes [
148]. Under optimized conditions and 210 min, the degradation rates of the two dyes were 68 and 80.7 %, respectively, whereas under five cycles of continuous use, the efficiency was maintained above 95% for both dyes.
Zinc oxide nanoparticles with spherical (40-100 nm) and rod (200 nm) shapes were fabricated using the extract from
Scallion peel, and used to remove Methylene Blue presented in a mimic wastewater [
149]. UV and visible light irradiation were used to degrade the dye. Experimental results showed that UV light was more effective (10 min) than visible light (30 min) to eliminate the dye from the solution.
Z-scheme V
2O
5/g-C
3N
4 photocatalytic composites were synthesized and used to degrade Methylene Blue [
150]. This investigation showed that the optimum composite formulation had a 90% efficiency in the degradation of the dye, result which was near 6.18-fold higher than that of pristine GCN catalyst. After five cycles of continuous use, the GVO2 heterostructure showed a decrease in its degradation efficiency (from 90% in the first cycle to 80% in the fifth cycle).
Zn, and Fe co-doped TiO
2 photocatalyst were fabricated by the sol-gel method at room temperature, presenting the tetragonal anatase phase of TiO
2 in all synthesized nanoparticles [
151]. Also, it was shown the presence of spherical nanoparticles in ZFT_2.5 photocatalyst with a diameter ranging from 8 to 20 nm. The photocatalyst ZFT_2.5 was investigated for the photocatalytic degradation of a mixture of three cationic dyes (Rhodamine B, Malachite Green and Methylene Blue) under exposure to visible light. Experimental results indicated that the above dyes degraded with 90.57%, 91.54% and 88.39%, respectively.
Graphite oxide and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were added to polyacrylonitrile nanofibers to investigate its performance, under visible light irradiation, on the photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue. Quantitative degradation efficiency for the dye was found after 25 min, showing the nanocomposite better efficiency than the pristine precursors [
152].
A green procedure was used to create MgO NPs using
Manilkara zapota as a bio source, further, activated carbon/magnesium oxide (AC/MgO) photocatalyst was blended through a solution evaporation procedure [
153]. This photocatalyst was used for photodegradation of Rhodamine B using an UV–visible spectrophotometer. The dye can be degraded (99%) under simulated solar irradiation.
Cadmium doped ZnO nanocomposites was prepared to investigate its performance on the photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue [
154]. Cadmium doping in ZnO nanostructure acted as an electron scavenger, stopping electron-hole (e
-/h
+) pairs from recombination on the surface of ZnO and increasing charge transfer.
Pure and TiO
2 doped MnO
2 spherical nanoparticles were made using a sol-gel technique. These nanoparticles were investigated in the photocatalytic degradation, under visible light exposure, of Methylene Blue [
155]. However, the use of the titanium-bearing nanomaterial only produced, after 120 min, a little improvement over the use of MnO
2. The utilization of both nanomaterials under continuous cycles indicated that there was a continuous loss of the activity after five cycles, being more displayed in the case of MnO
2 than in the TiO
2-MnO
2 material.
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (spherical shape) were formed, using leaf extracts of a sausage tree (
Kigelia Africana), and evaluated for the photocatalytic degradation of Toluidine Blue [
156]. This nanomaterial removed the dye with a 99.6 % efficiency within one hour and under an UV–visible source.
A MoS
2/FeMoO
4 composite was formed by introducing MoS
2 (which actuate as inorganic promoter) into MIL-53(Fe)-derived PMS-activator [
157]. The prepared MoS2/FeMoO
4 activated peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to reach 99.7% of Rhodamine B degradation after 20 min. Both Fe(II) and sulfur vacancies were responsibles as the main active sites on catalyst surface, where sulfur vacancies can promote adsorption and electron migration between PMS and MoS
2/FeMoO
4 to boost peroxide bond activation.
Rough copper oxide with a nanostructural morphology and located on the surface of a copper sheet was formed by an electrochemical anodic oxidation procedure; these nanostructures were used in the degradation of Rhodamine 6G under the irradiation of visible light [
158].
Silver-doped borophene and the corresponding zero-dimensional boron were constructed [
159]. They were used to investigate its performance on the photocatalytic degradation, under UV-visible irradiation, of Rhodamine B. The dye completely degraded after 120 min, though a small but continuous decrease in the efficiency after the 2nd and 3rd cycles was shown.
The same dye (Rhodamine B), than in the previous reference, was photocatalytic degraded by the action of Bi
2O
3@Zn-MOF hybrid nanomaterials, which were synthesized by supporting Zn-based metal-organic framework (Zn-MOF) through a hydrothermal process [
160]. A catalytic efficiency of 97% was reached after 90 min of exposure to visible light irradiation. Generation of free radicals (·O
2- and ·OH) was responsible for the decomposition of the dye into CO
2 and water. The nanocomposite can be reused three times, though the degradation efficiency decreased to 78 %.
MnS
2/MnO
2-CC heterostructure dual-functional catalysts formed of ultrathin nanosheets were prepared by a two-step electrodeposition method for used in the degradation of Methylene Blue [
161]. The dye removal efficiency of the heterostructural catalyst with a better kinetic rate (0.0226) can reach 97.76%, which is much higher than that of the MnO
x-CC catalyst (72.10%).
Based on the biopolymer pomelo peels (PP) and metal-oxide catalyst manganese oxide (MnO
x), an adsorption-enhanced catalyst (MnO
x-PP) was constructed for catalytic Methylene Blue oxidative-degradation [
162]. The dye was adsorbed onto the biopolymer and then the continuous generation of active substances (O
2· and OH
·) degraded
via an oxidative process the adsorbed dye molecules. Methylene Blue was degraded at a 99.5% rate at 25º C and one hour, with a slight (5%) but continuous dynamic degradation efficiency during 72 h based on the self-built continuous single-pass dye purification device.