Synthesis, characterization of visible active MO hallow spheres by combustion technique

Abstract

A simple method to synthesize nano-sized hallow sphere such as Zn-Ce metal oxide (MO) by combustion technique. The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) and Transmission electron microscope (TEM). The photocatalytic activity of Zn-Ce MO nano-sized hallow sphere was examined by studying the degradation of direct blue 71 (DB71) under visible light irradiations in a slurry photoreactor. The effect of parameters such as the catalyst dosage, concentration of the dye, pH and kinetics on photocatalytic degradation of DB71 is also studied. Degradation of dye was confirmed by UV-VIS spectrum, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ESI-Mass.