Facile green synthesis of semiconductive ZnO nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of dyes from the textile industry: A kinetic approach

Abstract

One-pot, facile and green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles are synthesized using cow dung as fuel by combustion procedure. The synthesized material is characterized by using various techniques such as XRD, FTIR, UV, FESEM, and EDX. To assess the photocatalytic efficacy of the as-synthesized material, harmful cationic and anionic dyes such as methylene blue (MB) and alizarin red S (AZ) dyes, respectively, are selected as benchmark dyes. The influence of light source, dye concentration, photocatalyst dosage, and pH value on the efficiency of photocatalyst and kinetics of photodegradation are systematically studied. The photodegradation results revealed that the synthesized ZnO NPs exhibited removal efficiency of MB and AZ dyes upon irradiation with UV light. Concisely, the removal efficacy of the ZnO NPs under UV light irradiation exhibited an MB and AZ degradation of 99.9% and 96.8%, respectively. A reasonable photo-catalytic mechanism for the high photodegradation efficacy of MB and AZ dyes by the prepared photocatalyst is also proposed. The green fabricated photocatalyst is promising material and could be applied for waste-water remediation and other ecological applications.