Enhanced photocatalytic performance under solar radiation of ZnO through hetero-junction with iron functionalized zeolite

Abstract

Many researches have been dedicated to the production of new photocatalysts, among the applied techniques; the heterojunction of different materials for the formation of composites has gained prominence and presented good results. In this context, the objective of this work was to produce, using a simple and low cost methodology, a photocatalyst with ZnO supported on functionalized NaY zeolite for application in solar photocatalysis. The photocatalyst had a pHpzc of 1.84, a gap energy of 1.88 eV, and the preparation steps did not alter the crystallinity of the NaY zeolite. The photocatalyst showed better performance under solar radiation, at a concentration of 1 g L−1 with 84.65 % removal of the herbicide 2,4-D (dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and reduction of post-treatment effluent toxicity. The reaction kinetics followed the model of order 1/2 with velocity constant k = 0.0153 g1/2.L−1/2. min−1. A reduction of up to 75 % in COD was attributed to the mineralization of the herbicide.