Ceramic foam decorated with ZnO for photodegradation of Rhodamine B dye

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The aim of this work was to prepare a foam glass (FG) decorated with nanostructured ZnO (FG/ZnO) and to evaluate its photocatalytic properties. The FG was sintered at 750°C using fluorescent lamp glass residues and white eggshell as the foaming agent (FA). The ZnO nanostructured particles were deposited on FG via microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis. To confirm the impregnation of the ZnO nanostructured particles onto the foam glass, images were obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RB) synthetic dye was investigated over the FG/ZnO, and an interesting degradation rate of RB dye was found. The results obtained were satisfactory and demonstrate that the use of foam glass as a support for ZnO is a viable alternative and of great interest for photocatalysis, especially since it requires further treatments for ZnO powder removal.