Abstract
Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods incorporated activated carbon (AC) composite photocatalyst was synthesized using a hydrothermal process. The AC was prepared from lapsi (Choerospondias axillaris) seed stone, an agricultural waste product, found in Nepal by the chemical activation method. An aqueous suspension of AC with ZnO precursor was subjected to the hydrothermal treatment at 140 °C for 2 h to decorate ZnO rods into the surface of AC. As-obtained ZnO nanorods decorated activated carbon (ZnO/AC) photocatalyst was characterized by various techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Results showed that highly crystalline hexagonal ZnO nanorods were effectively grown on the surface of porous AC. The photocatalytic property of the as-prepared ZnO/AC composite was studied by degrading methylene blue (MB) dye under UV-light irradiation. The ZnO/AC composite showed better photocatalytic property than that of the pristine ZnO nanorods. The enhanced photocatalytic performance in the case of the ZnO/AC composite is attributed to the combined effects of ZnO nanorods and AC.
Highlights
Dyes in the water body are the effluents from textile industries which are colored, toxic, and carcinogenic to living organisms [1,2,3]
Pristine Zinc oxide (ZnO) particles consist of hexagonal micro-rods, arranged in a bundle-like structure, having an almost equal length and diameter (Figure 2B), whereas the ZnO/activated carbon (AC) composite reveals that single hexagonal ZnO nanorods are well developed on the surface of porous AC (Figure 2C)
We found that the diameter of the rod in pristine ZnO particles is about 1.2 to 2.1 μm, whereas in composite, the diameter of the rod is reduced to 400–925 nm
Summary
Dyes in the water body are the effluents from textile industries which are colored, toxic, and carcinogenic to living organisms [1,2,3]. Designing effective adsorbent/photocatalyst is essential to meet the demand of removing dye wastes created by textile industries. Our group has developed various metal oxides nanoparticles incorporated carbon nanofibers photocatalysts with good photocatalytic property and reusability [15,19,20,21,22]. Among the various forms of carbon, the activated carbons (ACs) have been considered for the immobilization of photocatalytic materials due to their favorable properties such as large surface area, porosity, good adsorptivity, and convenience in handling [25,26,27]. We tried to exploit the photocatalytic property of ZnO and the adsorption property of AC from lapsi seed stone by incorporating ZnO nanorods into the AC using the hydrothermal technique. The proper incorporation of ZnO nanorods into AC prevents the loss of photocatalyst during recovery
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
