High Photodegradation Performance of ZnO Nanoparticles Supported on Porous Zeolite Na-a: Effects of ZnO Loading
Abstract Zeolite Na-A supported ZnO nanocomposites (ZnO/Zeolite Na-A NCs) were synthesized at low temperature (70 ℃) via the sol-gel process and characterized by X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for structural, morphological, optical and bonding properties. The textural properties and porosity were obtained by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique. The obtained XRD and microscopy results indicated that the obtained nanopowders were crystalline in nature and no collapse of the structure of zeolite Na-A. In addition, the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles occurred mainly on the surface of the zeolite support. It is clear that the zeolite supported ZnO nanoparticles were more dispersed as compared to the pure ZnO with improved porosity and high surface area. Photocatalytic activity for the ZnO/zeolite Na-A was tremendously increased which was attributed to the synergetic combined effects of both ZnO and zeolite aluminosilicate network such as increased surface area (SBET), high adsorption and restrained charge recombination.