A novel ternary Mn2O3 decorated GO-MoS2 heterostructure for enhanced tetracycline degradation and green H2 production under visible light.

Abstract

In this work, the facile synthesis of Mn2O3@GO-MoS2 composite as a sustainable photocatalyst is reported for green hydrogen (H2) production and tetracycline (TC) degradation. Detailed characterization of the Mn2O3@GO-MoS2 composite revealed its tailored optical bandgap, crystal structure of the composite, and improved separation efficiency. The results showed that 98.85% degradation of TC was attained within 15 minutes. This high degradation performance occurred because of more TC adsorption onto the Mn2O3@GO-MoS2 composite surface, low bandgap energy, low recombination rate, and relocation of light absorption into the visible range. The H2 production rate using Mn2O3@GO-MoS2 compose was 14.55 mmol.g−1.h−1. Stronger visible light consumption through a tunable band gap (1.34 eV) and lower electron-hole (e–/h+) pair recombination are the primary causes of the extraordinary catalytic activity. The primary reactive species responsible for TC degradation are h⁺ and •O2⁻. Key intermediates and the degradation pathway are predicted by the HRMS analysis. A minor reduction of 9.5% in TC degradation efficiency after five successful cycles indicates that the composite is stable and reproducible. The important advantages of Mn2O3@GO-MoS2 composite are it can easily recoverable from the solution and their phenomenal reusability of six cycles for H2 production. This work presents a straightforward, economical, and eco-friendly method for fabricating highly reusable Mn2O3@GO-MoS2 composite aimed at treating TC and producing green H2.