Tuning the band gap of manganese telluride quantum dots (MnTe QDs) for photocatalysis

Laser ablation synthesis in solution (LASiS) was used to synthesize quantum dots (QDs) of manganese telluride (MnTe). Size-tuneable QDs exhibit physicochemical property variation in the bandgap, optical, electrical, and magnetic properties. The size of QDs was fine-tuned with varying power and time duration of laser ablation. The characteristics of MnTe QDs were investigated using basic structural and morphological characterizations. The observed bandgap opening in the material is due to the quantum confinement effect, which led to increased energy band separation, as predicted from DFT simulations. The magnetic property of the synthesized MnTe QD catalysts influences the degradation process, with the process following pseudo-first-order kinetics. The photocatalytic dye degradation was studied using UV–visible spectroscopy. MnTe QDs were able to photodegrade methylene blue reagent up to 93.4