rGO supported CeO2–ZnO ternary nanocomposites for enhanced photocatalytic activity under solar light irradiation for environmental remediation

Photocatalysis under solar irradiation is an economically viable technique for the treatment of environmental contaminants. A ternary nanocomposite (TNC) has been synthesized by a hydrothermal technique and characterized by various techniques. XRD confirmed the crystallinity and supported the format...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Materials science & processing, 2022-05, Vol.128 (5), Article 419
Main Authors: Gali Anthoni, Suganya Josephine, Kuppan, Jayaprakash, Arumugam, Sivasamy, Govindan, Nirmala Devi, Raghavan Nadar, Viswanath
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied physics
Catalytic activity
Cerium oxides
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Condensed Matter Physics
Contaminants
Degradation
Dyes
Light irradiation
Machines
Manufacturing
Materials science
Nanocomposites
Nanotechnology
Optical and Electronic Materials
Oxidation
Photocatalysis
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Processes
Solar activity
Solar radiation
Surfaces and Interfaces
Thin Films
Wastewater treatment
Zinc oxide
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Summary:Photocatalysis under solar irradiation is an economically viable technique for the treatment of environmental contaminants. A ternary nanocomposite (TNC) has been synthesized by a hydrothermal technique and characterized by various techniques. XRD confirmed the crystallinity and supported the formation of ZnO and CeO 2 phases in TNC. FE-SEM showed that the nanocomposite containing ZnO and CeO 2 were nanosized and arranged in the rGO nanosheets. The particle size was found to be 20–30 nm. The photocatalytic studies were conducted for the degradation of orange G dye (Azo dye) under solar light irradiation. Out of the five ratios of nanocomposites prepared TNC1, TNC2, TNC3, TNC4 and TNC5, TNC4 showed better photocatalytic activity. Systematically, the preliminary and kinetic studies were conducted. The effect of variation of aqueous phase pH, catalyst dosage and concentration of dye showed 10 mg/10 ml of 10 ppm Orange G dye in neutral pH to degrade (> 99%) in 1 h of irradiation. A decrease in absorbance and COD of the photocatalytically degraded Orange G confirmed the enhanced activity of the prepared TNC. The reaction was found to follow a pseudo-first-order kinetics. This study paves way for utilizing solar active photocatalyst for wastewater treatment. Graphical abstract
ISSN:0947-8396
1432-0630
DOI:10.1007/s00339-022-05561-6