Facile synthesis of NiMn₂O₄/ZnMn₂O₄ heterostructure nanocomposite for visible-light-driven degradation of methylene blue dye

Nowadays, waste discharge and contaminants in drinking water have emerged as a significant global problem. Therefore, it is necessary to remove these pollutants from the water and photocatalysis is the best technique for this purpose. The co-precipitation technique was employed to produce NiMn₂O₄ and ZnMn₂O₄ and a photocatalyst containing NiMn₂O₄/ZnMn₂O₄ heterostructure nanocomposite. Various analytical techniques have been ascribed to examine the physical, morphological and optical features of the fabricated catalysts. XRD diffraction peak patterns were utilized to confirm the presence of cubic NiMn₂O₄, tetragonal ZnMn₂O₄ and NiMn₂O₄/ZnMn₂O₄ phases in a nanocomposite. In photodegradation tests, the nanocomposite catalyst outperformed the individual catalysts. After 60 minutes of visible light exposure, this nanocomposite catalyst eliminated the methylene blue (MB) dye, attaining substantially higher degradation rates than pure NiMn₂O₄ (66%) and ZnMn₂O₄ (77%). The nanocomposite catalyst was highly effective against methylene blue (MB) dye with a degradation efficiency of 92%.