Photocatalytic and superior ascorbic acid sensor activities of PVA/Zn-Fe-Mn ternary oxide nanocomposite

[Display omitted] •The sol-gel method followed by accidental self-propagation procedures yielded porous and high surface area ternary nanocomposite (TNC) materials.•BET analysis, this porous TNC material exhibited fifteen times greater surface area than ZnO.•Enhanced charge transfer synergy due to the effective tuning of heterojunction between metal oxides was observed.•A good photocatalytic dye degradation and ascorbic acid sensing activity were confirmed for TNC material. The sol-gel method followed by accidental self-propagation procedures was used for the synthesis of optimized high surface area and porous Zn/Fe/Mn oxide nanocomposites. The synthesized single and ternary nanomaterials were characterized by DTG-DSC, UV–vis-DRS, XRD, FT-IR, SEM-EDAX, BET, TEM-HRTEM-SAED, and CV-EIS-Amperometric analytical techniques. Compared to single ZnO, the characterization results revealed the surface area, porosity, and charge transfer property improvement on the ternary nanocomposite (TNC) material. The DTG/DSC result substantiated that the calcination temperature of 500 °C was sufficient to degrade the impurities and PVA polymers after serving the role of a capping agent. The decent stability of the TNC material was further confirmed on the amperometric technique. Using a TEM image and XRD pattern analysis, the approximate particle size of ZnO and TNC was determined to be 59 and 10 nm, respectively. The porosity characteristics of the optimized TNC was explored by SEM images and BET analysis. This is consistent with the result obtained from HRTEM (IFFT) and SAED pattern analysis. The presence of noble charge transfer property by TNC material against single ZnO had been witnessed from CV/EIS analysis. This decent charge transfer properties of the material were also further confirmed on the photocatalytic decomposition of Congo red and Acid Red 8 dyes and novel ascorbic acid sensing activity. The sensing capability of the material was understood from CV and amperometric analysis.