MnO₂ micro-chrysanthemum for improved photocatalytic activities

MnO₂ micro-chrysanthemum assembled from plentys of nanowires have been effectively constructed by a hydrothermal approach. The photocatalytic properties of the as-obtained micro-chrysanthemum are investigated. It can reveal the highly efficient photocatalytic performance of Methylene Blue, Eosin Red and Congo Red. In particular, MnO₂ micro-chrysanthemum structures demonstrate the excellent degradation of Congo red dye (94.1% removed within 30 min) in photocatalytic experiments. The Fréchet distance calculation shows that the structure of MnO₂ micro-chrysanthemum has a good photocatalytic degradation rate and no other influence. Besides, a possible photocatalytic mechanism of MnO₂ micro-chrysanthemum could be proposed under UV irradiation. This showed that the as-prepared products possess an effective performance in photocatalytic water treatment. (paper)