Ternary metal oxide WO3.NiO.ZnO nanoparticles and their composite with CNTs for organic dye photocatalytic degradation

Abstract

For photocatalytic dye degradation, ternary metal oxides (WO3, ZnO, and NiO) and their nanocomposite with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared by co-precipitation and ultrasonication route, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis were done to investigate structural properties, phase purity and surface morphology of prepared nanomaterials and their nanocomposites. Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis was done to investigate functional groups of fabricated metal oxides. The FTIR spectral analysis confirmed the presence of M − O (metal-oxygen) functional groups in the prepared nanomaterials. The nanocomposite of WO3.ZnO.NiO with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was synthesized to study their behaviour for photodegradation. CNTs have some unique characteristics that are required for advancement of photocatalytic degradation for treating wastewater. Methylene blue (MB) is used as a typical dye in photocatalysis to examine the degradation efficiency of prepared photocatalysts. The rate of methylene blue (MB) degradation rate was 45.87% by WO3.ZnO.NiO nanoparticles and 66.19% by WO3.ZnO.NiO/CNTs nanocomposite in the presence of H2O2. These results showed the increased photocatalytic properties of the prepared nanocomposite in comparison with bare mixed metal oxides.