Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B by ZnO Nanoparticles under Natural Sunlight

Abstract

ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by using wet chemical route directly from an aqueous solution of zinc acetate dehydrate[Zn(C2H3O2)2.2H2O] and in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS).A comparative study was doneon optical properties and photocatalytic activity of ZnO synthesized using two different precipitating agentsof NaOH and NH4OH. The as synthesized Zn(OH)2powders were calcined at a temperature of 650?C.The materials prepared were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) studies.The photocatalytic activity were evaluated by using theRhodamin B (RhB) as contaminants. The RhB dye degradation was done over the surface of ZnO under natural sunlight illumination to elucidate the photo-catalytic activity. A series of experiments were carried out to study the influences of irradiation time, catalyst concentration,and initial concentration ofRhBsolution on the photocatalytic degradation percentage (PDP) of RhB by ZnO nanoparticles.