Preparation of Nanosized Zero-Valent zinc (Zn0) Immobilized on ZnO as Redox Nanocomposite for Degradation of Methyl Orange from Aqueous Solution

Abstract

Introduction: In this study, nanosized zero-valent zinc (Zn0) as a reducing agent, simultaneously synthesized and immobilized on an oxidizing agent, ZnO photocatalyst for degradation of methyl orange (MO) from the aqueous solution. Materials and Methods: The prepared redox nanocomposite (nZn0-ZnO) was characterized by the XRD and SEM techniques. The prepared sample was separated by centrifuging. The preparation process of nZn0-ZnO including synthesis-immobilization, washing, and drying carried out under Argon gas flow. Moreover, the effect of temperature and kinetics reaction was studied. Results: The results showed that degradation efficiency of prepared redox nanocomposite was increased compared to each ZnO nanopowder and Zn0 under the same operational condition. The calculated activation energy for the degradation process was 4.05 KJ.mol-1. Finally, the results showed that the degradation processes followed pseudo first order kinetic model in the basic condition by the relative deviation modulus. Conclusion: As compared to ZnO nanopowder and Zn0, the prepared redox nanocomposite showed high degradation efficiency for the removal of methyl orange from the aqueous solution.