Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Red Dye Using Electrospun Nanofibers: A Bio-Inspired Approach for Wastewater Remediation

In this study, we investigated the photocatalytic degradation of methyl red dye using Polyvinylpyrrolidone/Tetraethyl orthosilicate (PVP/TEOS) electrospun nanofibers. Which was further calcined at 600℃ to synthesis the SiO 2 nanofibers. We analyzed the structural and morphological characteristics of the synthesized nanofibers through various techniques, including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction Spectroscopy (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique. XRD confirmed the amorphous structure of the nanofibers, while SEM ensured their uniformity and integrity. FTIR analysis indicated the uniform structure of nanofibers. The average nanofiber diameter, calculated using ImageJ software, was approximately 600 nm. We determined the band gap of SiO 2 nanofibers to be 3.16 eV using the Tauc plot method. The degradation of the dye was studied under different conditions, including pH, temperature, dye concentration, and kinetic analysis. The highest degradation of methyl red dye (96%) was achieved at pH 12 and a temperature of 55 °C, with an initial dye concentration of 10 ppm. The kinetic study confirmed the rapid degradation of methyl red dye. Our findings underscore the exceptional effectiveness of SiO 2 nanofibers in dye degradation, attributed to their chemical and biological inertness, as well as biodegradability, achieving a remarkable 96% dye degradation in just 40 min. Fig. 1 The graphical abstract represents the mechanism and schematic of the photocatalytic reactor, as well as the dye degradation over time