MgCr-LDH Nanoplatelets as Effective Oxidation Catalysts for Visible Light-Triggered Rhodamine B Degradation

In this work, we successfully exfoliated MgCr-(NO3−) LDH with large purity by a simple formamide method followed by post-hydrothermal treatment and characterized by different physico-chemical techniques. The UV-DRS study persuades the red-shifted absorption band and suitable band gap of MgCr-(NO3−) LDH for optimum light harvestation ability related to the optical properties. Alternatively, the production of elevated photocurrent density of MgCr-(NO3−) LDH (3:1, 80 °C) in the anodic direction was verified by the LSV study, which further revealed their effective charge separation efficacy. These MgCr-LDH nanosheets (3:1, 80 °C) displayed the superior Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation efficiency of 95.0% at 0.80 kW/m2 solar light intensity in 2 h. The tremendous catalytic performances of MgCr-LDH (3:1, 80 °C) were typically linked with the formation of surface-active sites for the charge trapping process due to the presence of uncoordinated metallocenters during the exfoliation process. Furthermore, the maximum amount of the active free atoms at the edges of the hexagonal platelet of MgCr-LDH causes severance of the nanosheets, which generates house of platelets of particle size ~20–50 nm for light harvestation, promoting easy charge separation and catalytic efficiency. In addition, radical quenching tests revealed that h+ and •OH play as major active species responsible for the RhB degradation.