Photocatalytic degradation of an anionic dye in aqueous solution by visible light responsive zinc oxide-termite hill composite

The present study investigated the photocatalytic potential of zinc oxide-termite hill composite (ZnO-TH) for anionic dye (acid blue 113, AB113) degradation in aqueous solution. The composite photocatalyst was prepared using the sol-gel method. The material properties were characterized using techniques such as gas sorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and titration for the determination of the surface charge. The photocatalytic conditions effect on AB113 dye degradation efficiency was examined at a fixed irradiation time of 60 min. It was identified that the optimum values of the initial dye concentration, aqueous solution pH and photocatalyst loading were 25 mg/L, 3.0 and 1.2 g/L, respectively. At these optimum conditions, the maximum decolorization efficiency was found to be 92.21%. AB113 dye was almost completely mineralized after 60 min of visible light irradiation in the presence of the ZnO-TH composite. The photocatalyst showed good stability after being reused for five times.