Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic activity of ZnO-coated activated carbon preparated by microwave method

The semiconductor mediated heterogeneous photocatalysis is an interesting and promising technique for environmental cleaning and remediation due to its potential to destroy a wide range of organic and inorganic pollutants at ambient temperatures and pressures[1]. This method is based on the generation of very reactive species such as hydroxy radicals (•OH) that oxidize a broad range of pollutants quickly [2]. For practical applications, there are some difficulties such as fixation of catalyst particles and efficient utilization of UV/solar light. For these reasons manyresearchers have been working to increase the efficiencies of these process by using a variety of supporting materials. Among these materials,activated carbon is the most commonly used adsorbent for water treatment. Activated carbon has a large specific surface area and a well developed porous structure, resulting in an attractive force toward organic molecules [3]. For these reasons, in this paper, preparation of ZnO-supported activated carbon by using microwave method was considered. And the effect of various parameters such as catalyst composition, initial dye concentration, catalyst loading, calcination temperature, pH of the medium on the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange using ZnO:AC were investigated.

کلیدواژه ها:

Photocatalytic degradation ، Supported ZnO ، Microwave irradiation ، Activated carbon