Photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles towards tinidazole degradation: Experimental design by response surface methodology (RSM)

Abstract

In this work, ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-NPS) were synthesized, characterized and used in photo catalytic degradation of tinidazole (TNZ) aqueous solution. A medium pressure Hg lamp (35 W) was used as radiation source. To study the interactions between the key operating parameters, the experiments were designed by using response surface methodology (RSM). The best run to achieve the maximum response was included C TNZ : 2.5 mg/L at pH 6.3, 0.76 g/L of ZnO and irradiation time of 90 min. To confirm the degradation extent of TNZ, HPLC and COD were used. Based on HPLC and COD results 62% and 70% of TNZ molecules have degraded during 90 min photo degradation of sample, respectively.