Photocatalytic degradation in aqueous solution using quantum-sized ZnO particles supported on sepiolite

Quantum-sized ZnO particles supported on sepiolite (ZnO/sepiolite) was prepared by sol–gel method using the sepiolite of acid activation as carrier, zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O) and lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LiOH·H2O) as raw material. The size of ZnO which supported on fibrous sepiolite is about 5 nm when calcined at 200 °C. The behavior of ZnO/sepiolite composites in the degradation of C.I. Reactive Blue 4 was investigated. Under the optimal preparation conditions, when the content of ZnO was about 70 wt.% in the nanocomposites, the photocatalytic property of the ZnO/sepiolite was excellent. The degradation rate of 20 mg/L C.I. Reactive Blue 4 could get to 98% in 120 min at room temperature when the concentration of catalyst was 0.2 g/L. The photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants accords with a pseudo first-order kinetic. The pH and H2O2 influence the degradation rate of the ZnO/sepiolite. The experiment indicated that after the catalyst had been used 5 times repeatedly, the degradation rate had been still above 80%.

Graphical abstractQuantum-sized ZnO particles supported on sepiolite was prepared by sol–gel method. The photocatalytic property of the ZnO/sepiolite composites was investigated.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (198 K)Download as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights► ZnO supported on sepiolite improve the photocatalytic performance. ► The size of ZnO supported on sepiolite was small. ► The ZnO/sepiolite can be used as adsorbents and photocatalysts. ► The ZnO/sepiolite system was easy to be gathered and recycled.