A facile Pechini sol-gel synthesis of TiO2/Zn2TiO2/ZnO/C nanocomposite: an efficient catalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of Orange G textile dye

• Main Authors: Nassar, Mostafa Y, Ali, Ayman A, Amin, Alaa S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-01-2017
• ISSN: 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/c7ra04899h

We have developed an efficient route for the synthesis of TiO
2
/Zn
2
TiO
2
/ZnO/C nanocomposites through a Pechini sol-gel method followed by heat treatment at 550 °C for 30 min. The produced phases and their crystallite sizes have been controlled by varying the Ti
4+
 : Zn
2+
molar ratios. FE-SEM, FT-IR, XRD, TEM, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and thermal analysis techniques were utilized for characterization of the as-prepared products. The photocatalytic activity of the products was investigated. Superior activity was observed for the TiO
2
/Zn
2
TiO
2
/ZnO/C nanocomposite for the photocatalytic degradation of Orange G dye (OG) under sunlight and UV illumination with
ca.
100% degradation in 50 and 120 min, respectively. The kinetic studies showed that the observed first-order rate constant (
k
obs
) was 113.48 × 10
−3
and 29.46 × 10
−3
min
−1
for the photocatalytic degradation under sunlight and UV irradiation, respectively. The results also showed the stability and reusability of the as-prepared nanocomposite and its applicability for the removal of OG textile dye from aqueous media.
We have developed an efficient route for the synthesis of TiO
2
/Zn
2
TiO
2
/ZnO/C nanocomposites through a Pechini sol-gel method followed by heat treatment at 550 °C for 30 min.