Optimization of preparation conditions of ZnO–SiO2 xerogel by sol–gel technique for photodegradation of methylene blue dye

The ZnO–SiO2 xerogel photocatalyst was prepared via the sol–gel technique and applied for photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. The optimum conditions for preparation of ZnO–SiO2 gel is 30:70 ZnO:SiO2 molar ratio and TEOS:C2H5OH:H2O:HNO3 is 1:16:12:0.04 molar ratios at 30°C for 30 min, at these conditions the photoactivity of ZnO–SiO2 xerogel was 99% at a surface area of 500 m2/g after 60 min. The optimum loading of ZnO–SiO2 photocatalyst was 0.050 wt% that gives 99% MB dye removal efficiency after 40 min. The overall kinetics of photodegradation of MB dye using ZnO–SiO2 photocatalyst was found to be of the first order.