Li and Ag Co-Doped ZnO Photocatalyst for Degradation of RO 4 Dye Under Solar Light Irradiation.

The synthesis of Li doped Ag-ZnO (Li-Ag-ZnO) has been successfully achieved by a sonochemically assisted precipitation-decomposition method. The synthesized catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), photoluminescence spectra (PL), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and BET surface area measurements. The photocatalytic activity of Li-Ag-ZnO was investigated for the degradation of Reactive orange 4 (RO 4) dye in aqueous solution under solar light irradiation. Co-dopants shift the absorbance of ZnO to the visible region. Li-Ag-ZnO is found to be more efficient than Ag-ZnO, Li-ZnO, commercial ZnO and prepared ZnO at pH 7 for the mineralization of RO 4 dye under solar light irradiation. The influences of operational parameters such as the amount of photocatalyst, dye concentration, initial pH on photo-mineralization of RO 4 have been analyzed. The mineralization of RO 4 dye has been confirmed by COD measurements. A degradation mechanism is proposed for the degradation of RO 4 under solar light. The catalyst was found to be more stable and reusable.

Photocatalytic detoxification of Acid Red 18 by modified ZnO catalyst under sunlight irradiation.

In this work, hybrid structured Bi-Au-ZnO composite was prepared by precipitation-decomposition method. This method is mild, economical and efficient. Bi-Au-ZnO was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectrum (EDS), diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), photoluminescence spectra (PL) and BET surface area measurements. Photocatalytic activity of Bi-Au-ZnO was evaluated by irradiating the Acid Red 18 (AR 18) dye solution under sun light. Heterostructured Bi-Au-ZnO photocatalyst showed higher photocatalytic activity than those of individual Bi-ZnO, Au-ZnO, bare ZnO, and TiO2-P25 at pH 11. The effects of operational parameters such as the amount of catalyst dosage, dye concentration, initial pH on photo mineralization of AR 18 dye have been analyzed. The mineralization of AR 18 has been confirmed by chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements. A possible mechanism is proposed for the degradation of AR 18 under sun light. Finally, Bi-Au-ZnO heterojunction photocatalyst was more stable and could be easily recycled several times opening a new avenue for potential industrial applications.

Preparation and characterization of SeO2/TiO2 composite photocatalyst with excellent performance for sunset yellow azo dye degradation under natural sunlight illumination.

To improve the solar light induced photocatalytic application performances of TiO2, in this study, the SeO2 modified TiO2 composite photocatalysts with various ratios of SeO2 to TiO2 were prepared by sol-gel method. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution scanning electron microscope (HR-SEM), energy dispersive spectra (EDS), diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), photoluminescence spectra (PL), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurement methods. The photocatalytic activity of SeO2/TiO2 was investigated for the degradation of sunset yellow (SY) in aqueous solution using solar light. The SeO2/TiO2 is found to be more efficient than prepared TiO2 and TiO2-P25 at pH 7 for the mineralization of SY. The effects of operational parameters such as the amount of photocatalyst, dye concentration and initial pH on photo mineralization of SY have been analyzed. The degradation was strongly enhanced in the presence of electron acceptors such as oxone, KIO4 and KBrO3. The kinetics of SY photodegradation was found to follow the pseudo-first order rate law and could be described in terms of Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. The mineralization of SY has been confirmed by COD measurements. The catalyst is found to be reusable.

Synthesis and characterization of ZnS-TiO2 photocatalyst and its excellent sun light driven catalytic activity.

The different wt% of ZnS loaded TiO2 (ZnS-TiO2) catalysts were successfully synthesized by precipitation cum sol-gel method and used for degradation of phenol dye, Phenol red sodium salt (PRSS) under natural sun light. Highly efficient 10.7 wt% of ZnS-TiO2 was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrum (EDS), diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), photoluminescence spectra (PL) and BET surface area measurements. ZnS-TiO2 is found to be more efficient than bare TiO2, TiO2-P25 and ZnS at pH 6.5 for the mineralization of PRSS dye. The effects of operational parameters such as the amount of photocatalyst and dye concentration have been analyzed. The mineralization of PRSS dye has been confirmed by chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements. A dual mechanism has been proposed for the degradation of PRSS under solar light. This catalyst is found to be reusable.

Solar active photocatalyst for effective degradation of RR 120 with dye sensitized mechanism.

Solar active WO3 loaded Ag-ZnO (WO3-Ag-ZnO) was successfully synthesized by precipitation-decomposition method. XPS reveals that the presence of metallic silver in the catalyst. The photocatalytic activity of WO3-Ag-ZnO was investigated for the degradation of Reactive Red 120 (RR 120) in aqueous solution using solar light. WO3-Ag-ZnO is found to be more efficient than Ag-ZnO, WO3-ZnO, Ag-WO3, commercial ZnO, prepared ZnO, Degussa TiO2-P25, pure WO3 and TiO2 (Merck) at pH 7 for the mineralization of RR 120. The effects of operational parameters such as the amount of photocatalyst, dye concentration, initial pH on photo mineralization of RR 120 have been analyzed. The mineralization of RR 120 has been confirmed by COD measurements. A dual mechanism has been proposed for efficient degradation of RR 120 dye with WO3-Ag-ZnO under solar light at neutral pH. This catalyst is found to be reusable.

Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic properties of SnO2-ZnO composite under UV-A light.

The SnO2 loaded ZnO (SnO2-ZnO) was successfully synthesized by precipitation-decomposition method. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution scanning electron microscope (HR-SEM) images, energy dispersive spectrum (EDS), diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), photoluminescence spectra (PL) and BET surface area measurements. The photocatalytic activity of SnO2-ZnO was investigated for the degradation of Acid Orange 10 (AO 10) in aqueous solution using UV-A light. SnO2-ZnO is found to be more efficient than commercial ZnO, bare ZnO, TiO2-P25 and TiO2 (Merck) at pH 12 for the mineralization of AO 10 dye. The effects of operational parameters such as the amount of photocatalyst, dye concentration, initial pH on photo mineralization of AO 10 dye have been analyzed. The mineralization of AO 10 has been confirmed by chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements. A degradation mechanism is proposed for the degradation of AO 10 with SnO2-ZnO under UV-A light. This catalyst is found to be reusable.