Efficient visible light photocatalysis of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) in aqueous solutions using supported zinc oxide nanorods

Al-Sabahi, Jamal Nasser; Bora, Tanujjal; Al‐Abri, Mohammed; Dutta, Joydeep

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189276

Cited by 52 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…The conduction band (CB) potentials were -0.43 eV for CuO and -0.15 eV for ZnO vs Normal Hydrogen Electrode (NHE) [40]. The band gaps of CuO and ZnO were 1.4 and 3.23 eV, respectively [41,42]. During sunlight irradiation, CuO and ZnO were excited to generate electrons and holes at the CB and the valence band (VB), respectively, as displayed in Figure 8, since the band positions of ZnO were below the CB and VB of CuO.…”

Section: Degradation Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthesis of CuO/ZnO Nanocomposites and Their Application in Photodegradation of Toxic Textile Dye

et al. 2019

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CuO/ZnO composites are synthesized using a simple mechanochemical combustion method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) are used to characterize the prepared oxides. X-ray diffraction reveals that the prepared CuO/ZnO exhibit a wurtzite ZnO crystal structure and the composites are composed of CuO and ZnO. The strong peaks of the Cu, Zn, and O elements are exhibited in the EDX spectrum. The FTIR spectra appear at around 3385 cm −1 and 1637 cm −1 , caused by O-H stretching, and 400 cm −1 to 590 cm −1 , ascribable to Zn-O stretching. The photocatalytic performances of CuO/ZnO nanocomposites are investigated for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) aqueous solution in direct solar irradiation. The degradation value of MB with 5 wt % CuO/ZnO is measured to be 98%, after 2 h of solar irradiation. The reactive • O 2 − and • OH radicals play important roles in the photodegradation of MB. Mineralization of MB is around 91% under sunlight irradiation within 7 h. The photodegradation treatment for the textile wastewater using sunlight is an easy technique-simply handled, and economical. Therefore, the solar photodegradation technique may be a very effective method for the treatment of wastewater instead of photodegradation with the artificial and expensive Hg-Xe lamp.methyl orange. Kuriakose et al. [14] prepared CuO/ZnO nanocomposites using the carbothermal evaporation method and evaluated the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange dyes under sunlight irradiation. Wang el al. [15] prepared MnO@MnOx microspheres through the solvothermal process and reported the degradation of levofloxacin under simulated sunlight irradiation. Nanocomposite photocatalytic technology can be considered a green technology and provides the advantages of abundance, including postpone electron-hole recombination, higher photocatalytic activity, and the ability to convert solar energy to chemical energy, which eventually realizes the solution of energy and environmental issues [16][17][18][19][20][21].ZnO is an n-type semiconductor, having a conductivity of about 10 −7 -10 −3 S/cm. It has a relatively large binding energy of 60 meV. However, the main disadvantages of ZnO are its fast electron-hole recombination rate and inefficient utilization of sunlight that lead to a reduction in photodegradation efficiency. The photodegradation performance of ZnO can be increased by modifying ZnO with transition metals [22]. Among the various transition metals, Cu-doped ZnO nanomaterials are of special interest due to the photocatalytic efficiency enhancement that creates defects in the lattice and reduces the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers [23]. Cu also provides plenty of advantages, such as low cost, more electronegativity than zinc, and a similar atomic size to that of zinc, and leads to better doping efficiency [24]. CuO is a natural p-type semiconductor with a narrow band gap, having a conductivity of 10 −4 ...

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Section: Degradation Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthesis of CuO/ZnO Nanocomposites and Their Application in Photodegradation of Toxic Textile Dye

et al. 2019

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“…Viral load as the initial pollutant concentration can affect the performance of photocatalytic processes. Many studies have investigated the effect of initial load of organic pollutants (e.g., benzene, toluene, and other pollutants) on the photocatalytic process efficiency (Al-Sabahi et al 2017 ; Einaga et al 2004 ). Regarding the effect of initial viral load, Yu et al used a reactor equipped with two ultraviolet lamps and a TiO 2 filter at 365 nm wavelength for the removal of various types of airborne microorganisms and showed that the photocatalytic filter was able to remove about 36% of the airborne phages with an initial viral load of 8.7 × 10 4 -1.2 × 10 7 .…”

Section: Viral Loadmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are photocatalytic processes effective for removal of airborne viruses from indoor air? A narrative review

Poormohammadi

Bashirian

Rahmani

et al. 2021

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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A wide variety of methods have been applied in indoor air to reduce the microbial load and reduce the transmission rate of acute respiratory diseases to personnel in healthcare sittings. In recent months, with the occurrence of COVID-19 pandemic, the role of portable ventilation systems in reducing the load of virus in indoor air has received much attention. The present study delineates a comprehensive up-to-date overview of the available photocatalysis technologies that have been applied for inactivating and removing airborne viruses. The detection methods for identifying viral particles in air and the main mechanisms involving in virus inactivation during photocatalysis are described and discussed. The photocatalytic processes could effectively decrease the load of viruses in indoor air. However, a constant viral model may not be generalizable to other airborne viruses. In photocatalytic processes, temperature and humidity play a distinct role in the inactivation of viruses through changing photocatalytic rate. The main mechanisms for inactivation of airborne viruses in the photocatalytic processes included chemical oxidation by the reactive oxygen species (ROS), the toxicity of metal ions released from metal-containing photocatalysts, and morphological damage of viruses.

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“…This dual‐functionalized NF filter showed enhanced PM filtration performance, as well as high‐toluene decomposition efficiency under xenon light irradiation 3 . Similarly, ZnO has been widely used for the efficient degradation of organic contaminants 28–32 . For instance, Ghanbari et al 33 reported the photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanorods, grown on alumina microfiber surface for both liquid phase and gas phase decompositions of methylene blue (MB) and toluene, respectively 29 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…3 Similarly, ZnO has been widely used for the efficient degradation of organic contaminants. [28][29][30][31][32] For instance, Ghanbari et al 33 reported the photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanorods, grown on alumina microfiber surface for both liquid phase and gas phase decompositions of methylene blue (MB) and toluene, respectively. 29 Their results showed almost complete decomposition of the organics after 10-20 min of exposure to UV light irradiation.…”

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confidence: 99%

Characterization of multifunctional PAN/ZnO nanofibrous composite filter for fine dust capture and photocatalytic activity

Aamer

Heo

2021

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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The multifunctional air filter, which can provide low resistance to airflow, was prepared from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers (NFs) by impregnating zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) with photocatalytic activity. Incorporation of ZnO NPs improved the surface roughness and electrostatic charge of electrospun NFs. The PAN/ZnO composite filter with 12 wt%-ZnO showed a filtration efficiency of 98.8% and a pressure drop of 48 Pa for 300 nm aerosol particles, resulting in a quality factor of 0.092 Pa −1. In addition, PAN/ZnO composite exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity in methylene blue (MB) decomposition at 100 and 70.2% efficiencies, respectively, under UV and visible light. K E Y W O R D S applications, separation techniques, synthesis and processing techniques 1 | INTRODUCTION According to the World Health Organization, exposure to air pollutants ranks high among the causes of human mortality (WHO, 2020). Specifically, outdoor air pollution was estimated to cause more than 4 million premature deaths annually. Such magnitude is attributed to inhalation of fine dust particles (otherwise called PM 2.5), associated with several lungs, heart, and respiratory diseases. 1-3 Although much efforts have been devoted to ameliorating PM pollution, the levels of tropospheric PM 2.5 in major cities are still unacceptably high (WHO). Therefore, active researches continue to find the most effective technologies to control PM pollution. Usually, PM is released from industrial, vehicular, and combustion processes, accompanied by some gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), Sulfur dioxide (SO 2), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). 3 In particular, several adverse

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Efficient visible light photocatalysis of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) in aqueous solutions using supported zinc oxide nanorods

Cited by 52 publications

References 75 publications

Synthesis of CuO/ZnO Nanocomposites and Their Application in Photodegradation of Toxic Textile Dye

Synthesis of CuO/ZnO Nanocomposites and Their Application in Photodegradation of Toxic Textile Dye

Are photocatalytic processes effective for removal of airborne viruses from indoor air? A narrative review

Characterization of multifunctional PAN/ZnO nanofibrous composite filter for fine dust capture and photocatalytic activity

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