Synthesis and characterization of thallium doped Mn3O4 as superior sunlight photocatalysts

The novel Thallium doped Mn3O4 were synthesized through a simple soft-chemical sol-gel method and effect of doping for the improvement of the photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation is reported. Samples were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate, compared with that of the Mn3O4 sample, Tl doped Mn3O4 samples exhibited increased photocatalytic activity and its visible light-driven photocatalytic activity reached % 82 in 24 min for the Tl0.4-Mn3O4. The Tl-Mn3O4 nanostructures exhibited higher photocatalytic activity for degradation of methylene blue (MB). Optical band gap energy was found to vary in the range of 2.6 to 2.8 eV. In addition, the relationship between the doping percent and photocatalytic efficiency was investigated in the viewpoint of organic dye degradation. This paper highlights the recent advances and applications of Tl doped Mn3O4 photocatalysis for the degradation of MB. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.