An efficient removal of Indigo Carmine dye (IC) from aqueous medium using environmental friendly synthesized ZnAl2O4

In recent years, materials have not only shown significant application in human life but also have a very important role in various industries. Over the last few decades, metal oxide and mixed metal oxide (MMO) have been acknowledged as efficient and environment-friendly alternatives to present-day available materials for different chemical, food, dye, and pharmaceutical industries along with environmental treatments. In view of the significant use of MMO in different fields, in the current work, nanocrystalline zinc aluminate (ZnAl2O4) has been successfully synthesized by the eco-friendly, cost-effective solid-state Mechanochemical (MCh) method, and it is used for the photocatalytic degradation of Indigo Carmine (IC) pollutant present in the wastewater of different industries. Numerous appropriate techniques, like Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Ultraviolet–Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-DRS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), were used for its characterization. It is revealed that ZnAl2O4 exhibits a pronounced photocatalytic activity under the influence of UV–visible light exposure. The present study also reveals a possible pathway for photocatalytic degradation of IC using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).