Photocatalysis of two-dimensional honeycomb-like ZnO nanowalls on zeolite

• ZnO nanowalls were supported on synthetic zeolite from fly ash.
• ZnO nanowalls/zeolite prepared by sol–gel and hydrothermal synthesis method.
• Degradation of methylene blue in water can reach 90% after 30 min.

Recent years have seen a series of new materials and technologies in wastewater treatment. Among various materials and technologies, the preparation and application of composite photocatalytic materials has received significant attention. We focus on ZnO/zeolite composite photocatalysts because of their superiority in wastewater treatment. Two-dimensional honeycomb-like ZnO nanowalls were fabricated on porous material of zeolite synthesized from fly ash by simple sol–gel and hydrothermal synthesis method in order to maximize the specific surface area and photocatalytic performance as well as easy to separation or recovery. The degradation of methylene blue dye in water can rapidly reach 90% with two-dimensional honeycomb-like ZnO nanowalls on zeolite composite materials after 30 min under UV light irradiation, which implies its huge potential application of photocatalysts in wastewater treatment.

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