Abstract
Nickel-aluminum-layered double-hydroxide (Ni-Al LDH) was synthesized via a facile and green route of co-precipitation. Systematic characterizations of the synthesized material were done by different instrumental techniques. The morphology of the Ni-Al nanomaterial was observed to be sheet-like structures as indicated by FESEM images. From the XRD measurements, it was confirmed that the as-grown nanosheets were Ni-Al LDH nanomaterials with a small quantity of aluminum oxide. Further, the Ni-Al LDH nanomaterial was tested as a photocatalyst for the solar and adsorption-assisted removal of organic pollutants from wastewater. Organic compounds of acridine orange (AO), methyl orange (MO) and cresyl blue (CB) were used as model organic pollutants in this study. Among the three dyes, the Ni-Al photocatalyst was found best for the MO removal while performing the reaction under the dark and visible light conditions. During experiments, it was found that Ni-Al LDH decolorized the MO containing wastewater up to 50% by the process of adsorption performed in the dark conditions. The decolorization efficiency was increased under the visible light as 87% decolorization of MO was achieved from its 0.03 mM solution due to the dye degradation by the action of Ni-Al LDH as a photocatalyst.