Removal of organic pollutants by zirconium containing nanoparticles: a comparative photocatalytic degradation study

Abstract

The present work deals with the synthesis of a novel quaternary photocatalyst ZrCdPbO4, prepared by co-precipitation method in controlled conditions. The prepared material was characterized using XRD, IR, FESEM, EDX, UV–VIS and XPS analysis to verify the crystalline nature, functional, morphological, chemical composition, band gap energy and oxidation states of elements. Generation of hydroxyl radicals was confirmed by the quenching experiment. These radicals were further used for degradation of some organic pollutants [Toluidine Blue (TB), Brilliant Green (BG) and Crystal Violet (CV)] and maximum degradation conditions like pH, concentration of dye, amount of photocatalyst and intensity of light were extracted by kinetic study. The maximum degradation rate was observed for CV = 10.8 × 10−4 (s−1), for TB = 8.62 × 10−4 (s−1) and for BG = 5.37 × 10−4 (s−1).