Abstract
A new type of material based on carbon/ZnO nanostructures that possesses both adsorption and photocatalytic properties was obtained in three stages: cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) microfiber mats prepared by the electrospinning method, ZnO nanostructures growth by dipping and hydrothermal methods, and finally thermal calcination at 600 °C in N2 for 30 min. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the structural characteristics. It was found that ZnO possesses a hexagonal wurtzite crystalline structure. The ZnO nanocrystals with star-like and nanorod shapes were evidenced by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements. A significant decrease in Eg value was found for carbon/ZnO hybrid materials (2.51 eV) as compared to ZnO nanostructures (3.21 eV). The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by studying the degradation of three dyes, Methylene Blue (MB), Rhodamine B (RhB) and Congo Red (CR) under visible-light irradiation. Therefore, the maximum color removal efficiency (both adsorption and photocatalytic processes) was: 97.97% of MB (C0 = 10 mg/L), 98.34% of RhB (C0 = 5 mg/L), and 91.93% of CR (C0 = 10 mg/L). Moreover, the value of the rate constant (k) was found to be 0.29 × 10−2 min−1. The novelty of this study relies on obtaining new photocatalysts based on carbon/ZnO using cheap and accessible raw materials, and low-cost preparation techniques.
Highlights
A major worldwide problem of modern society is the disposal and treatment of wastewater coming from industrial processes
Carbon/ZnO nanostructures were obtained in three stages: cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) microfiber mats were prepared by the electrospinning method, ZnO nanostructures were grown by dipping and hydrothermal methods, followed by thermal calcination at 600 ◦C in N2 atmosphere for 30 min
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements showed the formation of nanostructures with star-like and nanorod shapes
Summary
A major worldwide problem of modern society is the disposal and treatment of wastewater coming from industrial processes. It is known that about 97% of water is represented by oceans in the form of salty water. This is not appropriate for human consumption or agricultural use, and only less than 3% of water is useful [1]. The residual liquids containing dyes coming from the textile industry often create severe environmental hazards because of their direct disposal into nearby water bodies. More than 15% of the dyes are lost in wastewater during dyeing operations. This affects the surface esthetic merit of water and reduces light penetration, disturbing aquatic life and hindering photosynthesis [2]. Some dyes are either toxic, mutagenic or/and carcinogenic [1]
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