Studies on photocatalytic performance and photodegradation kinetics of zinc oxide nanoparticles prepared by microwave-assisted sol-gel technique using ethylene glycol

ZnO nanoparticles with an average particle size of 27 nm were fabricated using a microwave-assisted sol-gel method in the presence of ethylene glycol. The nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Monshi's equation, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The band gap energy of the nanoparticles was measured to be 3.27 eV by UV-Vis absorption and reflection spectroscopy. Photocatalytic activity of the synthesized nanoparticles was assessed by degrading nitrophenol in aqueous solution under UV-C irradiation. The effects of initial nitrophenol concentration, amount of photocatalyst, and of pH on the photodegradation process were investigated. Degradation samples were analyzed by UV-Vis spectroscopy. Nitrophenol was removed by 98 % within 240 min. The degradation kinetics were studied and fitted well to pseudo-first-order and Langmuir-Hinshelwood models.