Green synthesis and characterization of ZnAl2O4@ZnO nanocomposite and its environmental applications in rapid dye degradation

Abstract

In this study, ZnAl2O4@ZnO nanocomposite (NCs) was synthesized using tragacanth gel as a biotemplate source by the green sol-gel method. This method has many advantages such as nontoxic, economic viability, ease of scaling up, less time consuming and environmentally friendly. The sample was characterized by XRD, BET, TEM, FESEM, EDX, DRS and elemental mapping. XRD results displayed the presence of both, cubic structure of ZnAl2O4 and hexagonal wurtzite of ZnO phases in ZnAl2O4@ZnO nanocomposite. The ZnAl2O4@ZnO NCs has high photocatalytic activity for fast degradation of Acid orange 7 dye, so that AO7 dye with 40 mg/L concentration completely removed in 15 min by applying 0.02 g of synthesized catalyst under the visible light. Also, the efficiency degradation was certified by total organic carbon (TOC).