Green synthesis of novel ZnCrO4 nanosheets for photocatalytic degradation: A new catalyst

Yellow crystaline nanosheets of ZnCrO4 were synthesized by thermal assisted dissociation method at reflux temparature and at short period of time (30 Min.). XRD analysis, UV–VIS diffused reflection spectroscopy, FTIR instrumental anlalysis, fluroscence spectroscopy and SEM with EDAX techniques were utlitised for morphological characteristics of prepared composite material. The average size of ZnCrO4 nanosheets was found to be 80–100 nm, The ZnCrO4 nanosheets degraded nearly 90% methylene blue (MB) in aqueous medium of 70 min of visible light irradiation. ZnCrO4 nanosheets photocatalyzed degradation of MB in water matrices were found to be 30 times faster compare to Ag2ZrO4 while 43 times faster compared to well known P-25 titania photocatalyst. The ability of ZnCrO4 nanosheets towards the generation of radicals was studied by the scavenger study and confirmed that the hole and hydroxyl radicals are equally important for the degradation of MB dye. The cyclic stability of prepared ZnCrO4 nanosheets was thoroughly studied and found that no leaching of zinc ion in water and catalyst does not loss activity over the repeated experiments indicated its better safety and sustainability. The size of nanosheets are smaller possibly increases surface area of material and hence higher the activity.