Evaluation of photocatalytic activity of Cu3(PO4)2/MgO nanocomposite for the efficient removal of amaranth dye under solar light irradiation

[Display omitted] •In this work, we have prepare the novel Cu3(PO4)2/MgO nanocomposities for the photocatalytic degradation of amaranth dye under natural solar light.•The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of Cu3(PO4)2/MgO nanocomposite (0.1 g/L, 10 μM and 150 min) was investigated under natural direct sunlight irradiation against the dyes.•Degradation efficiency (99%) and degradation rates of amaranth were increases with increasing Cu3(PO4)2/MgO concentration.•The Cu3(PO4)2/MgO nanocomposites showed good activity against bacteria of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus pyogenes and Klebsilla pneumonia. The amaranth dye was removed using photocatalysis on a Cu3(PO4)2/MgO nanocomposite synthesized by co-precipitation method. The crystalline component and the nanostructure of the samples were analyzed by XRD, FTIR, UV–vis-DRS, SEM, EDS, HR-TEM and EIS confirming the successful formation of the nanocomposite. In powder XRD, the average crystallite size is found to be ∼ 26–37 nm. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Nyquist plots represents the charge-transfer resistance at contact interface and the arc diameter of Cu3(PO4)2/MgO is much smaller than that of pure MgO and Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), from TGA curve the weight-loss of Cu3(PO4)2 and Cu3(PO4)2/MgO nanocomposite was calculated as 14.18 % and 18.16 % which gives the more contribution to the large enhancement of photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of Cu3(PO4)2/MgO nanocomposite (0.1 g/L, 10 μM and 150 min) was investigated under natural direct solar light irradiation against the dyes. The rate of degradation of amaranth with Cu3(PO4)2/MgO followed pseudo–first order kinetics in the dye concentration. Degradation efficiency (99 %) and degradation rates of amaranth were increases with increasing Cu3(PO4)2/MgO concentration. Generally, this research work advances the possible utilization of Cu3(PO4)2/MgO as an efficient catalyst for taking away of dye from aqueous solution and improvement the catalyst to be used for a numerous cycles. The Cu3(PO4)2/MgO nanocomposites showed good activity against bacteria of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus pyogenes and Klebsilla pneumoniae.