Novel microwave-assisted synthesis of leaf-like MnMoO4 nanostructures and investigation of their photocatalytic performance

For the first time, leaf-like MnMoO4 nanostructures have been successfully synthesized via microwave-assisted method. In this route, by controlling the reaction parameters such as solvent, pH, power and time of microwave irradiation, nanostructures with different shapes including sphere-like, rod-like, sheet-like and leaf-like have been obtained. The as-synthesized manganese molybdate nanostructures were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. To evaluate the photocatalytic performance of as-prepared leaf-like MnMoO4 nanostructures, the photodegradation of methyl orange dye as water contaminant under ultraviolet light illumination was performed.