Easy simultaneous synthesis–immobilization of nanosized CuO–ZnO on perlite as a photocatalyst for degradation of acid orange 7 from aqueous solution in the presence of visible light

Abstract

A B S T R A C TIn order to improve the photocatalytic activity, the researchers have loaded some metals or metal oxides on semiconductors such as TiO 2 and ZnO surface. This study investigated the degradation of acid orange 7 (AO7) from aqueous solution by prepared nanosized CuOZnO immobilized on expanded perlite (nCuO-ZnO-P) as a photocatalyst in the presence of visible light. First, nCuO-ZnO-P was simultaneously synthesized-immobilized by pyrolysis of previously adsorbed Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ on perlite at 723.15 K in oven. The results showed that, unlike ZnO, the prepared nanosized photocatalyst has an effective photocatalytic activity in the presence of visible light. The effective parameters on AO7 degradation which were evaluated in the designed batch photoreactor included initial concentration of AO7 (C 0 ), pH, the granule size of used perlite for immobilization (D), and temperature (T). It was found that the content of degradation was followed by increasing order: C 0 = 15 > 25 > 35 > 45 > 55 mg l −1 , pH 7 > 8 > 9 > 6 > 5, D = 0.50 > 0.75 > 1.00 > 1. 25 > 1.50 mm, and T = 318.15 > 308.15 > 298.15 > 288.15 > 278.15 K.

Facile one-pot synthesis of heterostructure SnO2/ZnO photocatalyst for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of organic dye

“…In this context, various semiconductor based heterostructure photocatalysts have been designed and investigated such as Fe 3 O 4 /ZnO, 29 CeO 2 /ZnO, 30 ZnO-WO 3Àx , 31 SnO 2 /TiO 2 , 32,33 TiO 2 /ZnO, 34,35 CuO/ZnO. 36 Recently, Ahmad et al develop ZnO-decorated polypyrrole/ chitosan bio-nanocomposites by in situ polymerization of pyrrole in order to enhance the photocatalytic activity for the degradation of organic dyes. 37 The resulting composite showed higher photocatalytic performance for the degradation of methylene blue, reactive orange-16 and Coomassie brilliant blue R-250 under UV light irradiation.…”

Effects of the Addition of Fe, Co on the Azo Dye Degradation Ability of Mn-Al Mechanically Alloyed Powders

“…Various processes and materials have been proposed in the scientific literature for wastewater treatment. Some examples are: adsorption onto granular activated carbon [3], hollow fiber ultrafiltration [4], coagulation-flocculation with Detarium microcarpum [5], biological oxidation [6], or some photocatalyst methods and materials [7,8] including a magnetic photocatalyst [9]. One of the methods is reduction with zero valent metals or alloys [10].…”