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A one-step ultrasound-assisted synthesis of erbium-substituted nanocrystalline Mn2O3 and sonocatalytic degradation of azo dye

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Abstract

In this work, the effective degradation of methyl orange as a model of azo dyes which are the common industrial pollutants by Er-doped Mn2O3 nanomaterials was introduced. Erbium (Er3+)-substituted nanocrystalline Mn2O3 (Mn2−xErxO3) was obtained by oxidation of Mn(NO3)2 at ambient conditions under ultrasound sonication in basic solution. Er3+ substitution into the structure of Mn2O3 resulted in a material with new physical properties, composition and morphology. The SEM, XRD, EDX, TEM, HRTEM, XPS techniques were used for characterization of prepared material. Increasing the amount of Er3+ ions during synthesis did not increase significantly the percent substitution in the final product beyond 6%. The influence of substitution of Er3+ ions into Mn2O3 caused a red shift in the absorbance and a decrease in the band gap from 2.01 to 1.92 eV in the case of 6% Er-doped Mn2O3. The as-synthesized compounds were used for sonocatalytic degradation of Methyl Orange (MO). 6% Er-doped Mn2O3 displayed the elevated sonocatalytic activity considering various amounts of erbium. Considering radical scavengers, the sequence of inhibitory effect was 1, 4 Benzoquinone > I− > SO32− > t-BuOH > C2O42−. The influence of various specifications like catalyst amount, primary dye concentration, and ultrasonic power was explored. Furthermore, 92% degradation of the dye in 70 min under ultrasonic irradiation suggests that 6% Er-doped Mn2O3 is a promising sonocatalyst for environmental remediation.

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Acknowledgements

This work is funded by the Grant NRF-2018R1A2B3001246 of the National Research Foundation of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, WCU Nano Research Center, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 712-749, South Korea

    Younes Hanifehpour & Sang Woo Joo

  2. Center for Research Facilities, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 712-749, South Korea

    Bong-Ki Min

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Correspondence to Younes Hanifehpour or Sang Woo Joo.

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Hanifehpour, Y., Joo, S.W. & Min, BK. A one-step ultrasound-assisted synthesis of erbium-substituted nanocrystalline Mn2O3 and sonocatalytic degradation of azo dye. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29, 13667–13680 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-9495-0

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