Photocatalytic degradation of Malachite Green using ZnO and ZnO-TiO2 nanoparticles from aqueous solution

Today, despite the increasing demands for the products of chemical industries and the related factories, the challenges of environmental pollution have not been improved and it is approaching a very dangerous stage. In this regard, the role of dyeing industries in contaminating the environment is undeniable. In this research, ZnO and ZnO-TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by co-precipitation and sol-gel methods, respectively. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by XRD and FE-SEM techniques and their band gap energy were determined using the UV-Vis spectrum obtained from the suspension of nanoparticles. By using synthesized nanoparticles, degradation of malachite green under irradiation of the UV (A) -visible mixture light from aqueous solution were evaluated and the effect of different parameters such as amount of photo catalyst, time of light irradiation and dose of H2O2 has been studied. The destruction amount was determined by UV-Vis spectroscopy method. Based on the reported results, the maximum degradation efficiency of about 99% was obtained in the optimal values of experimental conditions.