Synthesis of ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposite loaded with silver via liquid impregnation method and investigation of its photocatalytic activity in removing an environmental pollutant under visible light irradiation
Subject Areas : Assessing the risks of pollutants on environment
1 - Department of Chemistry, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
Keywords: ZnO/SnO2, Ag-ZnO/SnO2, Co-precipitation, Liquid impregnation, Photocatalytic activity, C.I. Acid Red 27,
Abstract :
In this research, ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposite was first synthesized using the co-precipitation method, followed by the loading of silver at different percentages onto the nanocomposite via the liquid impregnation method. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized materials in the removal of a dye pollutant (C.I. Acid Red 27) was evaluated under visible light. Material characterization was conducted using XRD and SEM-EDX methods. Through these analyses, the particle size, constituent phases, and morphology of the particles were determined. The photocatalytic activity results showed that the Ag-ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposite exhibited higher activity than the ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposite in pollutant removal. The highest photocatalytic activity was observed in the Ag-ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposite with 5% wt. silver and a calcination temperature of 500°C, achieving a 95% removal of Acid Red 27 after 50 min of irradiation.
[1] Daneshvar, N., Salari, D., Khataee, A.R., 2003, Photocatalytic degradation of azo dye Acid Red 14 in water: Investigation of the effect of operational parameters, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 157, 111.
[2] Daneshvar, N., Rabbani, M., Modirshahla, N., Behnajady, M.A., 2004, Kinetic modeling of photocatalytic degradation of Acid Red 27 in UV/TiO2 process, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 168, 39.
[3] Daneshvar, N., Salari, D., Khataee, A.R., 2004, Photocalytic degradation of azo dye Acid Red 14 in water on ZnO as an alternative catalyst to TiO2, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 162, 317.
[4] Daneshvar, N., Salari, D., Niaei, A., Rasoulifard, M.H. and Khataee, A.R., 2005, Immobilization of TiO2 nanopowder on glass beads for the photocatalytic decolorization of an azo dye C.I. Direct Red 23, Journal of Environmental Science and Health. Part A, Toxic/Hazardous Substances & Environmental Engineering, 40, 1605.
[5] Daneshvar, N., Rasoulifard, M.H., Khataee, A.R., Hosseinzadeh, F., 2007, Removal of C.I. Acid Orange 7 from aqueous solution by UV irradiation in the presence of ZnO nanopowder, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 143, 95.
[6] Obare, S.O., Meyer, G.J., 2004, Nanostructured materials for environmental remediation of organic contaminants in water, Journal of Environmental Science and Health. Part A, Toxic/Hazardous Substances & Environmental Engineering, 39, 2549.
[7] Peng, F., Zhu, H., Wang, H., Yu, H., 2007, Preparation of Ag-sensitized ZnO and its photocatalytic performance under simulated solar light, Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, 24, 1022.
[8] Beydoun, D., Amal, R., Low, G., McEvoy, S., 1999, Role of nanoparticles in photocatalysis, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 1, 439.
[9] Wang, C., Wang, X., Xu, B.Q., Zhao, J., Mai, B., Peng, P., Sheng, G., Fu, J., 2004, Enhanced photocatalytic performance of nanosized coupled ZnO/SnO2 photocatalysts for methyl orange degradation, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 168, 47.
[10] Li, Y., Feng, Y., Bai, H., Liu, J., Hu, D., Fan, J., Shen, H., 2023, Enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance of black TiO2/SnO2 nanoparticles, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 960, 170672.
[11] Du, Q., Lin, Y., Cheng, S., Wei, D., Wang, Y., Zhou, Y., 2024, In situ synthesis of three-dimensional flower-like TiO2/WO3 heterojunction: Enhanced visible photocatalytic properties and theoretical calculations, Ceramics International, 50, 30605.
[12] Yang, W., Bu, Q., 2024, Microsphere structure enhances the photocatalytic performance of TiO2-CdS heterojunction, Materials Letters, 367, 136619.
[13] Qiu, T., Chen, G., 2024, Degradation of naphthalene and anthracene using the CdS/ZnO with enhanced photocatalytic activities, Environmental Technology & Innovation, 36, 103741.
[14] Chankhanittha, T., Watcharakitti, J., Piyavarakorn, V., Johnson, B., Bushby, R.J., Chuaicham, C., Sasaki, K., Nijpanich, S., Nakajima, H., Chanlek, N., Nanan, S., 2023, ZnO/ZnS photocatalyst from thermal treatment of ZnS: Influence of calcination temperature on development of heterojunction structure and photocatalytic performance, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 179, 111393.
[15] Aguirre-Cortés, J.M., Munguía-Ubierna, Á., Moral-Rodríguez, A., Pérez-Cadenas, A.F., Carrasco-Marín, F., Bailón-García, E., 2024, Size-miniaturization of TiO2-ZrO2 coupled semiconductors to develop highly efficient visible- driven photocatalysts for the degradation of drugs in wastewater, Applied Surface Science, 670, 160609.
[16] Suliman, Z.A., Mecha, A.C., Mwasiagi, J.I., 2024, Effect of TiO2/Fe2O3 nanopowder synthesis method on visible light photocatalytic degradation of reactive blue dye, Heliyon, 10, e29648.
[17] Zhang, M., An, T., Hu, X., Wang, C., Sheng, G., Fu, J., 2004, Preparation and photocatalytic properties of a nanometer ZnO–SnO2 coupled oxide, Applied Catalysis A: General, 260, 215.
[18] Sant, P.A., Kamat, P.V., 2002, Interparticle electron transfer between size-quantized CdS and TiO2 semiconductor nanoclusters, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 4, 198.
[19] Kuo, C.Y., Lin, H.Y., 2004, Effect of coupled semiconductor system treating aqueous 4-nitrophenol, Journal of Environmental Science and Health. Part A, Toxic/Hazardous Substances & Environmental Engineering, 39, 2113.
[20] Gouvea, C.A.K., Wypych, F., Moraes, S.G., Duran, N., Peralta-Zamora, P., 2000, Semiconductor-assisted photodegradation of lignin, dye and kraft effluent by Ag-doped ZnO, Chemosphere, 40, 427.
[21] Coleman, H.M., Chiang, K., Amal, R., 2005, Effects of Ag and Pt on photocatalytic degradation of endocrine disrupting chemicals in water, Chemical Engineering Journal, 113, 65.
[22] Carp, O., Huisman, C.L., Reller, A., 2004, Photoinduced reactivity of titanium dioxide, Progress in Solid State Chemistry, 32, 33.
[23] Kontapakdee, K., Panpranot, J., Praserthdam, P., 2007, Effect of Ag addition on the properties of Pd-Ag/TiO2 catalysts containing different TiO2 crystalline phases, Catalysis Communications, 8, 2166.
[24] Wang, W.W., Zhu, Y.J., Yang, L.X., 2007, ZnO-SnO2 hollow spheres and hierarchical nanosheets: Hydrothermal preparation, formation mechanism, and photocatalytic properties, Advanced Functional Materials, 17, 59.
