Abstract
Among chemical water pollutants, Cr(VI) is a highly toxic heavy metal; solar photocatalysis is a cost-effective method to reduce Cr(VI) to innocuous Cr(III). In this research work, an efficient and economically feasible ZnO/CuO nanocomposite was grafted onto the polyester fabric ZnO/CuO/PF through the SILAR method. Characterization by SEM, EDX, XRD, and DRS confirmed the successful grafting of highly crystalline, solar active nanoflakes of ZnO/CuO nanocomposite onto the polyester fabric. The grafting of the ZnO/CuO nanocomposite was confirmed by FTIR analysis of the ZnO/CuO/PF membrane. A solar photocatalytic reduction reaction of Cr(VI) was carried out by ZnO/CuO/PF under natural sunlight (solar flux 5–6 kW h/m2). The response surface methodology was employed to determine the interactive effect of three reaction variables: initial concentration of Cr(VI), pH, and solar irradiation time. According to UV/Vis spectrophotometry, 97% of chromium was removed from wastewater in acidic conditions after four hours of sunlight irradiation. ZnO/CuO/PF demonstrated reusability for 11 batches of wastewater under natural sunlight. Evaluation of Cr(VI) reduction was also executed by complexation of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) with 1, 5-diphenylcarbazide. The total percentage removal of Cr after solar photocatalysis was carried out by AAS of the wastewater sample. The ZnO/CuO/PF enhanced the reduction of Cr(VI) metal from wastewater remarkably.
Highlights
Water is a basic requirement for all life forms on earth, but availability of fresh water is limited due to the poor management of industrial wastewater that is directly discharged into waste streams without any treatment [1]
Cr(VI) is highly toxic heavy metal because it does not require a specific membrane carrier; it can penetrate through the cell membrane [5], which causes the oxidation of biological molecules
On considering all the drawbacks of the previously reported methods for wastewater treatment and the immobilization of nanostructures over diverse kinds of substrates, in this research work, a thin film of ZnO/CuO nanocomposite has been grafted on polyester fabric (PE) by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method and the fabricated material was characterized by EDX, SEM, and XRD
Summary
Water is a basic requirement for all life forms on earth, but availability of fresh water is limited due to the poor management of industrial wastewater that is directly discharged into waste streams without any treatment [1]. A photocatalyst is used in suspension as a slurry reactor, but it is not suitable for separation, reuse, and regaining of the photocatalyst for the treatment of the batch of polluted water [14,20,21] This can be overcome by immobilizing the photocatalyst onto a substrate such as glass, ceramics, or fabric-based membranes. On considering all the drawbacks of the previously reported methods for wastewater treatment and the immobilization of nanostructures over diverse kinds of substrates, in this research work, a thin film of ZnO/CuO nanocomposite has been grafted on polyester fabric (PE) by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method and the fabricated material was characterized by EDX, SEM, and XRD. The untreated polyester fabric was procured from National Textile University, Faisalabad, Pakistan, and wastewater containing Cr(VI) ions was collected from the Rajawala drain near the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
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