Microwave assisted fabrication of La/Cu/Zr/carbon dots trimetallic nanocomposites with their adsorptional vs photocatalytic efficiency for remediation of persistent organic pollutants

Herein we report a greener microwave method for fabrication of La/Cu/Zr/carbon quantum dots trimetallic nanocomposites(La/Cu/Zr/CQDs TNCs). The structural aspects and chemical nature of the TNCs were considered using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The optical band property of the trimetallic nanocomposites was examined using UV–vis spectroscopy. The adsorptional versus photocatalytic activity of the La/Cu/Zr/CQDs TNCs was investigated for the removal of a persistent organic pollutant i.e., malachite green dye and ampicillin antibiotic, under visible light irradiation. Overall, the current approach relates to green chemistry principles for fabrication La/Cu/Zr/CQDs trimetallic nanocomposites which hold promise for the development of surprisingly proficient adsorptional-photocatalytic systems. It has been observed that 96% ampicillin antibiotic and 86% of malachite green were degraded in 4 h of photoirridation under adsorption in dark followed by photocatalysis and coupled adsorptional/photocatalysis process.