%0 Journal Article
%T Synthesis and characterization of ZnO-TiO2 nanocomposites and their application as photocatalysts
%A Md Ahsan Habib
%A Md Tusan Shahadat
%A Newaz Mohammed Bahadur
%A Iqbal M I Ismail and Abu Jafar Mahmood
%J International Nano Letters
%D 2013
%I 
%R 10.1186/2228-5326-3-5
%X Nanocomposite ZnO-TiO2 powders of varying ZnO/TiO2 molar ratios have been prepared from their salt/compound by heating at 600ˇăC and 900ˇăC and characterized using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction techniques. The nanosized powders can decolorize/degrade brilliant golden yellow (BGY), an azo dye extensively used in textile industries, in water under solar irradiation. The effects of various parameters such as photocatalyst loading, molar ratio of ZnO/TiO2, pH of the solution, initial dye concentration, and irradiation time on the photodecolorization have been investigated. ZnO-TiO2 nanocomposite (6 g/L) in the molar ratio of 1:1 or 3:1, prepared at 900ˇăC, can efficiently decolorize about 98% of 20 mg/L BGY at pH of about 7 by 2-h illumination in sunlight. The initial dye decolorization follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. Finally, trial experiments were done using real textile wastewater to find out the effectiveness of the photocatalysts to a more complex system.
%K Nanocomposite ZnO-TiO2
%K Photocatalysts
%K Dye pollution
%K Solar photocatalytic decolorization
%U http://www.inl-journal.com/content/3/1/5/abstract