Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6663984 | Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering | 2018 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
In this study, we have successfully prepared the zinc phosphate Zn3(PO4)2 through aqueous precipitation using PEG (Polyethylene glycol) as surface active agent. The compound was analyzed by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-Ray analysis (EDS). The diffraction profiles showed a highly crystallized sample with dimensions of 3â¯Î¼m. Rietveld refinement confirmed the pure monoclinic C2/c zinc phosphate phase. The SEM images showed platelet faceted morphology with different orientations and a crystal growth mechanism has been proposed. The photocatalytic experiments were carried out using Rhodamine B (RhB) as a model pollutant; the UV-visible spectrometry was used to analyze the evolution of dye degradation. The obtained experimental results showed that the Rhodamine B dye degradation efficiency is significantly dependent on different physico-chemical conditions including catalyst loading, pH and dye concentration. Furthermore, the zinc phosphate photocatalyst was found to be fairly photostable during four regeneration cycles. Finally, a photocatalytic mechanism was proposed based on the active species trapping experiments.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering (General)
Authors
Y. Naciri, H. Ait Ahsaine, A. Chennah, A. Amedlous, A. Taoufyq, B. Bakiz, M. Ezahri, S. Villain, A. Benlhachemi,