Photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanodisks in degradation of Rhodamine B and Bromocresol Green under UV light exposure

Abstract

Semiconductor-based photocatalyst is an alternative approach for wastewater treatment. The effectiveness of semiconductor nanoparticles to eliminate textile dye substances in the contaminant water has been widely studied in the last decade. This work discusses the photocatalytic activities of ZnO nanodisks by using different dye substance (rhodamine B, RhB and bromocresol green, BCG) under UV exposure. ZnO nanodisks were successfully synthesized through solution precipitation method. The formation of ZnO in hexagonal nanodisks structure was confirmed by XRD, FESEM and EDX analysis. The result showed that the photodegradation efficiency of BCG dye is higher than RhB dye under 75 min of UV irradiation. This could be explained by the dye molecular structure as BCG dyes containing more hydroxyl groups (-OH) than RhB dyes.