A kaolinite/ TiO 2 /ZnO-based novel ternary composite for photocatalytic degradation of anionic azo dyes

A. K.M.Maksudul Hasan, Shaikat Chandra Dey, Muhammad Mominur Rahman, Abdullah Muhammad Zakaria, Mithun Sarker, Md Ashaduzzaman, Sayed Md Shamsuddin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Solar-assisted photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants has emerged as efficient technology for the effective treatment of industrial wastewater. Here, we report a simple technique for the fabrication of a novel ternary photocatalyst from kaolinite (K), TiO 2 (T) and ZnO (Z). The most efficient catalyst was prepared at a calcination temperature of 600 C. The fabricated ternary composite was characterized using different analytical techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, field emission-scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The photocatalytic degradation was performed at room temperature (25 C) using Remazol Red (RR), an anionic azo dye, as the model compound. A maximum of 98% degradation of RR was found with the ternary catalyst K 0.50T 0.45Z 0.05, which was prepared from 50% kaolinite (w/w), 45% TiO 2 (w/w) and 5% ZnO (w/w). The catalyst was found to be suitable for long-term repeated applications. Mechanistic investigation through radical trapping experiments confirmed hydroxyl radicals as the potential contributor to the photocatalytic degradation of RR. It is highly expected that a novel photocatalyst design such as this will pave way towards further development of materials capable of hazardous dye removal from industrial effluents.

Original languageEnglish
Article number27
JournalBulletin of Materials Science
Volume43
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2020
Externally publishedYes

Funding

The authors are grateful to the Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences (CARS), University of Dhaka, Bangladesh for providing partial analytical support. The authors also thank the Ministry of Science and Technology, Bangladesh, for providing financial support (Grant No. 39.00.0000.09.06.79.2017/Es-57/285) to carry out this research.

Keywords

  • Remazol Red
  • Solar-assisted
  • calcination
  • kaolinite
  • photocatalyst

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