Tunable Gemini Surfactant-Assisted Metal Oxide Photocatalysts for Efficient Visible-Light Degradation of Direct Green 6 Dye

In this work, a simple and competent technique employing a gemini surfactant with different molar concentrations was developed via a hydrothermal method, and its photocatalytic performance towards the degradation of Direct green 6 (DG 6) as investigated for the first time. The crystal phase, optical behavior, surface morphology, and absorption features were systematically examined using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), UV–diffused reflectance spectra (UV–DRS), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier Transform- Infrared (FT-IR), respectively. Among the synthesized samples, the 0.05M GS@Mn ₅ O ₈ (Gemini surfactant stabilized Mn ₅ O ₈ ) photocatalyst exhibited superior performance compared to the other photocatalysts. The optimized 0.05M GS@Mn ₅ O ₈ photocatalyst achieved a high dye degradation efficiency of up to 97% indicating its strong potential for wastewater treatment applications. The results demonstrate that different molar concentrations of the Gemini surfactant 0.05M loaded on Mn ₅ O ₈ exhibit superior photocatalytic activity. Moreover, the photocatalyst can be easily recovered and reused over multiple cycles, providing a simple and efficient approach for effective photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants.