Synthesis, Characterization and Application of Zinc Oxide with Micro Polyhedral and Nano Plate Morphologies for Simultaneous Decolorization of Two- dye Mixture in Wastewater

In this work, growth and assembly of the micro polyhedral zinc oxide was performed using air bubble assisted Triton X100, as a templating agent. In absence of air bubbling in the reaction system the nano plate zinc oxide was synthesized. The prepared samples were characterized by Xray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The optical properties of the samples were evaluated by UV-Vis spectrum. Photocatalytic application of the samples for simultaneous decolorization of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) dyes mixture in aqueous solution was examined. The Langmuir- Hinshelwood model for decolorization kinetic data was investigated. The reusability of the samples after five consecutive uses was examined. The photocatalytic results indicated that the micro polyhedral zinc oxide is a promising candidate for simultaneous decolorization of the MO and MB dyes (>90%).