Abstract
A simple, green, inexpensive and eco-friendly method of pulsed laser ablation in liquid media (PLAL) technique was used to synthesize different nanocomposites to be applied as accelerators in the reducing of harmful organic chemical compounds and eliminating biological hazards in remediation applications. Herein, PLAL technique was used to prepare NiO-MWCNTs nanocomposites in just one step for the catalytic degradation of methylene blue dye in the presence of reducing agent. Then, different characterization techniques were used to confirm the formation of the nanocomposite structure. TEM results showed that NiO NPs are spherical in shape, with an average size of 20 nm with a face centered cubic (FCC) structure based on XRD diffractograms, while XPS data revealed that the tubular structure of carbon nanotubes had been successfully functionalized then decorated with NiO NPs, whereas the Raman spectra exhibited that the structural defects of MWCNTs were increased after embedding with NiO NPs. Following that, under ideal conditions, the produced nanocomposite displayed excellent catalytic activity in the reductive degradation of 70.22% from the investigated methylene blue dyes in just 10 min. As a result, NiO-MWCNTs nanocomposites are an appealing choice for wastewater treatment due to their excellent catalytic reduction capability and economic feasibility.
•NiO-MWCNTs nanocomposite was synthesized by laser ablation of Ni target in f-MWCNTs.•The as-prepared nanocomposite has a good catalytic activity against MB.•The produced nanocomposite has high distribution without using any surfactant.•NiO-MWCNTs nanocomposite able to dispose of 70.22% of MB in 10 min.•Structural defects of MWCNTs increase after embedding with NiO NPs.