Solar Light Assisted Metal Selenide-Chitosan Nanoparticles from Structure Tailoring to Photocatalytic Mineralization of Selected Industrial Dyes

Both human health and aquatic environments are at risk of contamination by industrial wastewater. These contaminants, which are hazardous organic dye pollutants, can cause extreme harm if not addressed effectively. Therefore, addressing the degradation of hazardous organic dye pollutants is crucial. Using the co-precipitation technique, manganese nickel selenide-chitosan nanoparticles (MnNiSeCs-NPs) were prepared. The fabrication of the nanocomposites was verified by FTIR study. Using the SEM method, the average particle size was measured to be 74 nm. The elemental composition of the nanocomposites was further studied using EDX, which demonstrated the existence of Se, Mn, and Ni in the nanocomposite. For determining the crystalline structure, XRD was utilized, and the measured crystallite size was 24.2 nm. The photocatalyst exhibited a reduced bandgap of 2.3 eV. When subjected to sunlight irradiation by optimizing the reaction conditions, including a 75-min duration, 40 ppm dye solution of pH 7, and 0.1 g photocatalyst dosage, effective photodegradation of Alizarin red dye upto 98% was attained using the synthesized MnNiSeCs-NPs. Likewise, 96% degradation of tartrazine dye was accomplished with the same optimum parameters of time, pH, and ppm while only increasing the catalyst dosage to 0.2 g. Both reactions follow pseudo-first-order kinetic principles. Notably, the MnNiSeCs-NP catalyst exhibited recyclability in four sequential batches. These findings indicate that the MnNiSeCs-NPs are extremely efficient, economically viable, and useful photocatalysts for reducing pollutants in industrial effluent with great environmental remediation potential.