Issue 48, 2017

A facile Pechini sol–gel synthesis of TiO2/Zn2TiO2/ZnO/C nanocomposite: an efficient catalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of Orange G textile dye

Abstract

We have developed an efficient route for the synthesis of TiO2/Zn2TiO2/ZnO/C nanocomposites through a Pechini sol–gel method followed by heat treatment at 550 °C for 30 min. The produced phases and their crystallite sizes have been controlled by varying the Ti4+ : Zn2+ molar ratios. FE-SEM, FT-IR, XRD, TEM, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and thermal analysis techniques were utilized for characterization of the as-prepared products. The photocatalytic activity of the products was investigated. Superior activity was observed for the TiO2/Zn2TiO2/ZnO/C nanocomposite for the photocatalytic degradation of Orange G dye (OG) under sunlight and UV illumination with ca. 100% degradation in 50 and 120 min, respectively. The kinetic studies showed that the observed first-order rate constant (kobs) was 113.48 × 10−3 and 29.46 × 10−3 min−1 for the photocatalytic degradation under sunlight and UV irradiation, respectively. The results also showed the stability and reusability of the as-prepared nanocomposite and its applicability for the removal of OG textile dye from aqueous media.

Graphical abstract: A facile Pechini sol–gel synthesis of TiO2/Zn2TiO2/ZnO/C nanocomposite: an efficient catalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of Orange G textile dye

Associated articles

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 May 2017
Accepted
08 Jun 2017
First published
13 Jun 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 30411-30421

A facile Pechini sol–gel synthesis of TiO2/Zn2TiO2/ZnO/C nanocomposite: an efficient catalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of Orange G textile dye

M. Y. Nassar, A. A. Ali and A. S. Amin, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 30411 DOI: 10.1039/C7RA04899H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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