Photocatalytic performance of ZnO coated tubular reactor

Abstract

The recovery of photocatalyst particles constitutes a serious drawback of slurry reactors. Therefore, depositing the catalyst mass on a suitable support without loss of photocatalytic activity is of practical importance. In this study, a chemical deposition method was applied to coat the inner surface of quartz tubes of various diameters with thin ZnO film. The method is economical, energy efficient and easy to apply. ZnO film is mechanically durable and resistant to chemical dissolution. Various physical tests were conducted to characterize the film. ZnO thin film exhibits the crystal wurtzite structure with band gap calculated as 3.24 eV. The film exhibits highly hydrophilic behavior. The average ZnO crystallite size is estimated as 72 nm. SEM analysis shows that the ZnO film has granular morphology with uniform particle size of about 300–400 nm. The film thickness is calculated as 1.41 μm after 20 coating cycles and the increase of the thickness of the thin film per cycle was approximately 70 nm. Photochemical activity tests were performed by measuring photo decolorization rate of a commercial azo dye (Rem Red F3B) solution in tubular reactor and as well as in slurry reactor for comparative purpose. First order rate constants were correlated to principal process parameters. The results showed that thin ZnO film has high photocatalytic activity comparable to that of ZnO powder.