Removal of organic dye by air and macroporous ZnO/MoO3/SiO2 hybrid under room conditions

A new macroporous ZnO/MoO3/SiO2 hybrid was synthesized by a method involving sol-gel technology and biomimetic synthesis. It was characterized by Elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Chemical degradation of 0.3 g/L Safranin T (ST) by air oxidation over macroporous ZnO/MoO3/SiO2 hybrid was studied. It was found that the decolorization efficiency and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of ST reached above 95.3% and 93.2%, respectively, within 25 min at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. And the organic pollutant was mineralized to simple inorganic species such as HCO3−, Cl− and NO3−, while the total organic carbon (TOC) decreased 95.4%. The structure and morphology of the catalyst were still stable after six cycling runs and the leaching test showed negligible leaching effect.

Graphical abstractA new macroporous ZnO/MoO3/SiO2 hybrid was synthesized by a method involving sol-gel technology and biomimetic synthesis. The catalyst was proved to be an high active and stable heterogeneous catalyst for CWAO of ST under extremely mild conditions.Download full-size imageHighlights► The macroporous catalyst is synthesized by the mushroom as the biological template. ► The degradation reactions by air and the catalyst are studied under room conditions. ► High catalytic effect and stability are proved the catalytic activity of the catalyst. ► The investigation of ZnO/MoO3/SiO2 exhibits academic and industrial values.