Solar Photocatalytic Degradation of Commercial Azo Dye Acid Orange 7 by Synthesized CaZnO2 Nanoparticle as an Effective Catalyst

Abstract

The degradation of acid orange 7 (AO7) widely used as a textile dye, can be photocatalysed by CaZnO₂ nanoparticle using Advanced oxidation process (AOPs). Calcium zincate nanoparticles were synthesized by solution combustion method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Calcium zincate appears to be a suitable alternative to TiO₂ for water treatment. In this study a detailed investigation of photocatalytic degradation of acid range 7 is presented. Photo degradation efficiency was small when the photolysis was carried out in the absence of sunlight and it was zero in presence of sunlight without catalyst. It was found that 99 % degradation occurs with catalyst in presence of sunlight. The effect of parameters such as pH, amount of photocatalyst, irradiation time and dye concentration were also examined.