Investigation of novel, green synthesized and photocatalytic Sn-doped MoO3 nanomaterial for the degradation of methyl orange

Nowadays, water resources are being contaminated owe to the waste organic pollutants. A novel Sn-doped MoO3 nanomaterial was developed in the presence of extract from the skin of capsicum annuum fruit to decontaminate the waste water by degrading this organic pollutant. For the preparation of these nanomaterials, a facile green synthesis approach was adopted by using capsicum annuum extract. The as designed nanomaterials were thoroughly characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) techniques. The photocatalytic activity of as designed nanomaterials was observed against the methyl orange (MO) a model dye under the irradiation of visible light. The results obtained from the characterization of these nanomaterials have shown reduced sized particles with cone, sphere and rod like morphologies. In comparison to pure MoO3 prepared without extract (Sample-1) and MoO3 prepared with extract (Sample-2), the Sn-doped MoO3 prepared in the presence of extract (Sample-3) has shown a reduced optical energy bang gap value i.e 2.84eV and an enhanced photocatalytic activity against MO i.e about 95%. This optimized sample has also shown a low charges recombination rates. This excellent photocatalytic performance is credited to the increased active sites owe to the development of large surface area and a significant decrease in the recombination rate of charge carriers along with a reasonable decrease in optical band gap. These results have exhibited a boosted photocatalytic performance of this material in visible light region.