Cerium doped zinc oxide nanoparticles loaded non-woven polypropylene fabric for photo decolourization of Congo red under visible light irradiation

The present work focusses on the synthesis of cerium doped zinc oxide nanoparticle as a photocatalyst using a modified co-precipitation method and physical testing of Non-Woven Polypropylene (NWP) fabric loaded with cerium doped zinc oxide nanoparticle (NWP Photocatalytic bag) for the photo decolourization under visible light irradiation. The synthesised cerium doped zinc oxide photocatalyst was characterised using X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscope, Fourier Transform Infrared, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis, and the non-woven polypropylene fabric material was tested for air permeability, thickness, and the fabric bursting strength using standard testing methods such as American Society for Testing and Materials D737, ASTM D1777-96, and ASTM D 3786, respectively. The Congo Red (CR) dye was chosen as an organic pollutant. The photo decolourization of CR dye was done using an NWP Photocatalytic bag under visible light irradiation and 86% of photo decolourization was achieved. The result shows the application of photo decolourization using an NWP Photocatalytic bag to be effective and can be used for large-scale industrial applications.

Automated summary

The study focuses on synthesizing cerium doped zinc oxide nanoparticles as a photocatalyst and testing non-woven polypropylene fabric loaded with these nanoparticles for photo decolorization. The synthesized photocatalyst was characterized using various methods, and the fabric material was tested for air permeability, thickness, and bursting strength. Congo Red dye was used as an organic pollutant and 86% photo decolorization was achieved using the NWP Photocatalytic bag under visible light. The study demonstrates the effectiveness and potential industrial applications of the NWP Photocatalytic bag.