Background:
Textile industries discharge harmful synthetic dyes to nearby water sources. These
colour effluents should be treated before discharge to reduce the toxicity caused by synthetic colours.
Objective:
To synthesize visible light active superstructures to reduce water pollution caused by textile industries.
Methods:
We have successfully synthesized ZnO/Dy/NiO hybrid nanocomposites using waste curd as fuel
by a simple combustion method. The obtained material was able to reduce recombination and enhanced the
photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. The as-synthesized material was characterized by XRD,
absorption spectroscopy, FESEM, EDAX, etc. The obtained hybrid nanostructure was used as a photocatalyst
for the degradation of methylene blue under sunlight, UV light as well as in dark. Comparative experiments
were carried out with a variation of catalytic load, pH, dye concentrations, etc. for a better understanding
of the performance of the catalyst at various conditions.
Results and Conclusion:
The ternary compound shows wide range of absorption by expanding absorption
band both in UV and visible regions. ZnO/Dy/NiO hybrid nanocomposites performed well and showed
uniqueness in the activity uder visible light.
