Synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles by co-precipitation method for solar driven photodegradation of Congo red dye at different pH

Solar driven photocatalytic processes to remove organic pollutants from wastewater and other aqueous solutions is very important and useful due to its environmental benefits regarding sustainability aspect. In this article, we report a study on the use of bare zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) prepared by the chemical low temperature co-precipitation method and used as a catalyst to degrade the Congo red dye from aqueous solution using solar radiation. We performed the photocatalytic experiments for degradation of Congo red dye under solar radiation at different pH values. The results showed that the ZnO NPs are effective under solar radiation for degradation of Congo red dye. Even when the pH was varied down to 4 or raised to 10, the degradation was observed to be slightly improved. This result is due to the excess of radicals species, which enhance the photocatalytic process. In general, the observed degradation efficiency of the ZnO NPs is due to the deep level defects within the band gap that were introduced during the growth process of the ZnO NPs, which enhance the absorption wavelength band towards the visible light region. Recycling of the ZnO NPs for 3 successive runs have indicated the feasibility of reusing the NPs for several times. This implies that by using bare ZnO NPs an efficient approach for degradation of toxic waste can be achieved. Radical scavengers were used to evaluate the role of the radicals in the reaction mechanism.