The photo-, sono-, and sonophoto-catalytic activity of an LaMnO3/TiO2/graphene composite for degrading methylene blue in wastewater

Abstract

Abstract Here we describe the successful synthesis of an LaMnO3/TiO2/graphene composite using a co-precipitation method and three different weight percentages (wt%) of graphene. The structure of the sample was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and the thermal stability of the sample was characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis. The XRD pattern of the sample confirmed the orthorhombic phase of the LaMnO3 nanoparticle and anatase phase of the TiO2 nanoparticle; however, the graphene peak unidentifiable by XRD was confirmed using TGA and FTIR spectroscopy. Moreover, we found that the photo-, sono-, and photosono-catalytic activities of LaMnO3/TiO2 were elevated by the presence of graphene material as an electron trapper, resulting in optimal rates of methylene blue degradation in the presence of 5 wt.% graphene.