Nano Production of Photocatalysts for Water Treatment

Iranian Researchers from University of Isfahan Studied the Production of Nanocomposites with Photocatalytic Properties to Modify Industrial Wastewater Purification Processes

Results of the research have applications in various industries, including textile, dyeing and manufacturing of dyes.

Photocatalysts have wide applications in various industries. Among their applications, mention can be made of purification of wastewater of dye producing and textile plants. The aim of the research was to produce, identify and investigate the properties of zinc oxide/tin oxide nanocomposite as a photocatalyst.

The nanocomposite studied in this research has been synthesized through co-precipitation method by using cheap pre-cursors. The catalyst can be easily separated from the testing solution because the nanocomposite has been coated on the glassy bed. Therefore, there is no need for the filtration of the final product to recover the catalyst. Among other advantages of the product, mention can be made of desirable efficiency and the ability to degrade famous pigments in the wastewater of textile plants in a short period of time.

The average diameter size of photocatalytic nanoparticles has been reported about 18 nm. This product has a better performance in the elimination of dye pollutants than pure photocatalysts of zinc and tin.

The photocatalytic activity of the produced nanocomposite films was studied in the degradation of some dyes under the radiation of ultraviolet light. Two semi-conductors with different energy gaps were combined together to increase the performance of semi-conductive photocatalyst.

Source: Nanotech Now

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Taxonomy

• Treatment
• Sludge Separation
• Purification