Facile Hydrothermal Synthesis of Visible-Light-Driven MnS/rGO Nanocomposite for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye

Currently, the global problem of poisonous and nondegradable organic water pollutants cannot be ignored. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is an advanced oxidation process (AOP) that uses semiconducting materials as a catalyst to clean water. Nanosize semiconductor photocatalysts are well recognized for their practical and cost-effective way of cleaning up environmental pollution when exposed to visible light. Herein, a simple hydrothermal approach is used to create an MnS/rGO nanocomposite for the degradation of aromatic dyes under visible light. Powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-visible spectroscopy are utilized to analyze the synthesized photocatalyst. Methylene blue is investigated for photocatalytic degradation using the MnS/rGO heterostructure nanocomposite. Under visible light, the composite shows photocatalytic degradation efficiency of 91.8% owing to the addition of rGO, its synergistic effects, high specific surface area, and a decrease in photoinduced electron-hole pair recombination. The fabricated nanocomposite MnS/rGO with significantly better photoresponse activity is successfully protected from charge recombination by reduced graphene oxide, which functions as a superb electron-carrying material.