Physicochemical and photocatalytic properties of AgCrO/FeO/CeO ternary nanocomposite.

The study presents AgCrO/FeO/CeO ternary nanocomposite, based on FeO/CeO binary composites, which demonstrated excellent photocatalytic performance in the photodegradation of methylene blue under solar irradiation. The AgCrO/FeO/CeO nanocomposites was orthorhombic, ilmenite, and cubic-fluorite phases of AgCrO, FeO, and CeO, respectively, according to the XRD examination. A strong bond between AgCrO, FeO, and CeO within the nanocomposite was demonstrated by the SEM and TEM investigations. Moreover, it was discovered that the coupling of AgCrO and FeO caused a red shift and moved CeO absorption edge from the UV to the visible spectrum. The reason behind this is that the band gap of CeO reduced 2.85 to 2.69 eV and the absorbance band intensity increased in visible region. Utilizing visible light, AgCrO/FeO/CeO ternary nanocomposites exhibit enhanced photocatalytic properties (98.90%) for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) within 100 min. The long-term reliability and recyclability of the photocatalyst were explored through 3 successive cycles. An active radical quenching test was conducted to elucidate the involvement of O and OH which are the primary reactive species in the photocatalytic breakdown of MB. AgCrO/FeO/CeO ternary nanocomposites displayed notable improvements in photodegradation activity, making them well suited for the effective removal of hazardous dyes present in textile effluents.