Surface modification of silica-coated gadolinium oxide nanoparticles with zinc tetracarboxyphenoxy phthalocyanine for the photodegradation of Orange G

•Zinc tetraphenoxycarboxy phthalocyanine was covalently immobilized to the surface of Gd2O3 nanoparticles.•The nanocomposite showed improved photophysical properties compared to the phthalocyanine alone.•The composite was successfully employed in the photodegradation of Orange G.

Zinc tetracarboxyphenoxy phthalocyanine was covalently linked to Gd2O3 nanoparticles for the photocatalytic degradation of Orange G. Characterization of the composite was carried out using XRD, TEM, XPS, UV–vis spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy. The composite showed improved photophysical properties over the phthalocyanine alone and the catalyst was found to be reusable. Analyses of the photodegradation rates of the azo dye indicated pseudo first-order kinetics.

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