Photo-catalytic Study of Malachite Green Dye Degradation Using Rice Straw Extracted Activated Carbon Supported ZnO Nano-particles

Objective: ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using wet impregnation method, and activated carbon from rice straw (RS) prepared through chemical route. Methods: The nano-composites ZnO-AC series were prepared with different ZnO:AC ratio of 10, 20, 50, and 70% to optimize the zinc oxide nanoparticles used. The obtained composites were characterized by FE-SEM, XRD, SBET, and optical techniques then used for the photo-degradation of Malachite green dye (MG) under visible light. Results: It was found that 10ZnO-AC exhibited excellent visible light photo-catalytic performance. The ·OH radicals’ formation is matching with photo-activity of the prepared composites. The photo-degradation efficiency of MG increased from 63% to 93%, when the 10ZnO-AC photocatalyst amount was increased from 0.5 to 6 g/L. Conclusion: The GC-MS technique was used to analyze the intermediates formed; up to 15 kinds of chemicals were identified as the degradation products.