Pt Nanoparticles Embedded Polypyrrole‐Carbon Black/SrSnO3 Photocatalyst with Stable and Superior Photodegradation Performance

Abstract Currently, the primary focus for scientific authorities and regulatory departments revolves around water pollution. In this regard, photocatalysis has emerged as a highly effective, affordable, and goal‐oriented approach. Thus, recognizing the urgency of this issue, we focused our efforts towards developing a novel ternary photocatalytic structure based on mesoporous SrSnO 3 , combined with polypyrrole‐doped carbon black (PPC) and platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs). Pt NPs, PPC and SrSnO 3 ‐based nanocomposite photocatalyst was developed through a very simple chemical method followed by ultrasonication and photoreduction techniques. XRD analysis confirmed orthorhombic phase of SrSnO 3 , while the formation of the ternary nanocomposite among Pt NPs, PPC and SrSnO 3 has been confirmed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the presence of Pt NPs (5–15 nm), beads/dense cocoon like structures of PPC along with rod, spherical and needle shape nanostructures of SrSnO 3 in newly created ternary photocatalyst. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) showed lowering of band gap energy in case of Pt@PPC/SrSnO 3 . Newly developed Pt@PPC/SrSnO 3 nanocomposite worked efficiently when employed on colorless insecticide imidacloprid (IMD) and on colored methylene blue (MB) dye under UV‐light. Pt@PPC/SrSnO 3 photocatalyst exhibited excellent performance with 96.03 % removal of pollutant IMD in only 20 min, almost 296 % more efficient than bare SrSnO 3 . Furthermore, the Pt@PPC/SrSnO 3 ternary photocatalyst showed rapid removal of MB with almost total elimination of dye molecule in just 16 min.