The synergetic action of FeVO4 and h-BN for decontamination of industrial wastewater pollutants and the assessment of phytotoxicity

The research's primary objective is to successfully utilize the sol-gel method to synthesize FeVO4/h-BN nano-composite with a smaller bandgap than h-BN (hexagonal boron nitride). The nanocomposite was examined using various techniques, including XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-Vis, PL, FT-IR, XPS, EIS, and Mott-Schottky analysis, to properly evaluate its structure, optical activity, vibrational properties, chemical compositions, and electro-chemical studies. The FeVO4/h-BN binary nanocomposite shifts the band gap of synthesized h-BN from 5.8 eV to 2.01 eV. The composite's morphology made it abundantly clear that the spherical FeVO4 was anchored together in a sheet of h-BN. A phytotoxicity test was conducted after the photocatalytic degradation of industrial wastewater from textiles. Correspondingly, interpretation of the photocatalytic process showed the FeVO4/h-BN nanocatalyst degraded against industrial wastewater (IWW), Congo red (CR), and Methylene blue (MB) dye by up to 92.5%, 86.4%, and 96.4%, and antibiotics like metronidazole (MNZ) and cephalexin (CPX) up to 95.8% and 83.5% respectively, within 60 min under visible light. Numerous Physiochemical parameters intensity in the degraded IWW had greatly reduced, denoting lessened toxicity. To understand the photocatalytic degradation mechanism, trapping experiments with different scavengers were pursued. The scavenger study's evidence suggests that holes (h+) deserve greater suspicion for the degradation process. The material's potential for recycling was examined, and it was found to have significant potential insight into recycling prospects. In actual textile wastewater, the FeVO4/h-BN degrading tactic proved itself to be an efficient as well as economical choice.