Investigate the luminescence and structural properties of ZnSe:Mn/ZnS-PVA nanoparticles as photocatalysts for methylene blue degradation under visible light

This study describes the production of ZnSe:Mn/ZnS-PVA nanoparticles utilizing Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a stabilizer in an environmentally acceptable, safe, affordable, and easy chemical technique that does not include organometallic compounds. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis reveals the development of cubic ZnSe:Mn/ZnS-PVA nanoparticles with an average size of about 7.5 nm. The absorption edge in the UV-VIS absorption spectrum was used to calculate the optical band gap energy (Eg), which decreased as particle size increased. The size of ZnSe:Mn/ZnS-PVA nanoparticles increased, resulting in a yellow-orange shift. When utilized as a photocatalyst in the methylene blue (MB) degradation reaction under visible light with the electron donor chemical oxalic acid (H2C2O4), the photocatalytic process followed a pseudo-first-order kinetic equation. Changing the ZnS coating content did not modify the material structure, but it did affect the optical characteristics and catalytic activity of the ZnSe:Mn/ZnS-PVA nanoparticles. ZnSe:Mn/4ZnS PVA nanoparticles had exceptional photocatalytic activity; the apparent rate constant of ZnSe:Mn/4ZnS-PVA nanoparticles was determined to be 0.0148 min-1, and after 180 minutes of reaction, nearly 93% of the MB content was decomposed. These findings are encouraging for the practical use of this material in the treatment of hazardous organic dyes in water.