Sains Malaysiana 47(2)(2018): 253-259

http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2018-4702-06

 

Cr2O3 Nanoparticles Anchored on ZnO Nanorods as Active Heterostructure Catalysts for Phenol Degradation  

(Zarah Nano Cr2O3 Bergabung pada Rod Nano ZnO sebagai Pemangkin Heterostruktur Aktif untuk Degradasi Fenol)

 

Sze-Mun Lam1*, Jin-Chung Sin2 & Abdul Rahman Mohamed3

 

1Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar,

Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia

 

2Department of Petrochemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar,

Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia

 

3School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus

Seri Ampangan, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang,Malaysia

 

Diserahkan: 25 Mac 2017/Diterima: 1 Ogos 2017  


ABSTRACT

With the rapid civilization and industrialization, water pollution is becoming more and more intricate. Heterogeneous photocatalysis using metal oxide loaded ZnO nanorods is a well-known environmental technology to degrade toxic organic pollutants. In this study, Cr2O3 particles anchored on the ZnO nanorods (Cr2O3/ZnO) were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal-deposition technique. Microscopic and crystallographic analyses indicated that the synthesized samples consisted of two-phase heterostructure of Cr2O3 and ZnO. The photocatalytic results showed that the phenol degradation by Cr2O3 /ZnO heterostructures was higher than those of pure ZnO and commercial TiO2. The synergetic effect between Cr2O3 and ZnO was the pivotal reason for the improvement of photoactivity as proven by the photoluminescence and terephthalic acid–photoluminescence analyses.

Keywords: Cr2O3; nanocomposite; phenol; photocatalysis; ZnO nanorod

 


ABSTRAK

Dengan pertamadunan dan perindustrian yang pesat, isu alam sekitar seperti pencemaran air menjadi semakin rumit. Fotopemangkinan heterogen menggunakan logam oksida digabungkan rod nano ZnO adalah teknologi alam sekitar yang terkenal untuk degradasi bahan pencemar organik toksik. Dalam kajian ini, heterostruktur Cr2O3/ZnO dengan zarah Cr2O3 berpasang pada rod nano ZnO telah berjaya disintesis oleh teknik hidroterma-pemendapan. Analisis mikroskopik dan kristalografi menunjukkan bahawa sampel yang disintesis terdiri daripada dua fasa berheterostruktur Cr2O3 dan ZnO. Keputusan fotopemangkinan menunjukkan bahawa degradasi fenol oleh heterostruktur Cr2O3/ZnO adalah lebih tinggi berbanding dengan ZnO tulen dan TiO2 komersial. Kesan sinergi di antara Cr2O3 dan ZnO adalah sebab utama peningkatan aktiviti pemfotomangkinan seperti yang dibuktikan oleh analisa fotoluminasi dan asid tereftalik-fotoluminasi. 

Kata kunci: Cr2O3; fenol; fotopemangkinan; komposit nano; rod nano ZnO

 

RUJUKAN

Abdullah, M.D.P. & Nainggolan, H. 1990. Phenolic water pollutants in a Malaysian river basin. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 19: 423–431.

Busca, G., Berardinelli, S., Resini, C. & Arrighi, L. 2008. Technologies for the removal of phenol from fluid streams: A short review of recent developments. Journal Hazardous Materials 160: 265–288.

Cao, J., Luo, B.D., Lin H.L. & Chen, S.F. 2011. Photocatalytic activity of novel AgBr/WO3 composite photocatalyst under visible light irradiation for methyl orange degradation. Journal Hazardous Materials 190: 700–706.

Flores, N.M., Pal, U. & Mora, E.S. 2011. Photocatalytic behavior of ZnO and Pt-incorporated ZnO nanoparticles in phenol degradation. Applied Catalysis A: General 394: 269–275.

Jung, Y.S., Kim, K.H., Jang, T.Y., Tak, Y.S. & Baeck, S.H. 2011. Enhancement of photocatalytic properties of Cr2O3-TiO2 mixed oxides prepared by sol-gel method. Current Applied Physics 11: 358-361.

Khalik, W.F., Ho, L.N., Ong, S.A., Wong, Y.S., Yusoff, N.A. & Ridwan, F. 2015. Decolorization and mineralization of Batik wastewater through solar photocatalytic process. Sains Malaysiana 44(4): 607–612.

Lam, S.M., Sin, J.C., Abdullah, A.Z. & Mohamed, A.R. 2013. Photocatalytic degradation of resorcinol, an endocrine disrupter, by TiO2 and ZnO suspensions. Environmental Technology 34: 1097–1106.

Lam, S.M., Sin, J.C., Satoshi, I. & Mohamed, A.R. 2014. Enhanced sunlight photocatalytic performance over Nb2O5/ZnO nanorod composites and the mechanism study. Applied Catalysis A: General 471: 126–135.

Lee, K.M., Abdullah, A.H., Hussein, M.Z. & Zainal, Z. 2014. Synthesis and photocatalysis of ZnO/γFe2O3 nanocomposite in degrading herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Sains Malaysiana 43(3): 437–441.

Li, X.Q., Zhang, J., Kang, S.Z., Li, G.D. & Mu, J. 2014. Visible light photocatalytic activity of CuO/Cr2O3 co-loaded multiwalled carbon nanotubes sensitized with eosin Y for hydrogen evolution from water. Ceramics International 40: 10171–10176.

Liu, W., Wang, M.L., Xu, C.X., Chen, S.F. & Fu, X.L. 2013. Significantly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 via ZnO modification and the mechanism study. Journal Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 368–369: 9–15.

Patniak, P. 2007. A Comprehensive Guide to the Hazardous Properties of Chemical Substances. 3rd ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Sin, J.C., Lam, S.M., Satoshi, I. & Mohamed, A.R. 2014. Sunlight photocatalytic activity enhancement and mechanism of novel europium-doped ZnO hierarchical micro/nanospheres for degradation of phenol. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 148: 258–268.

Sin, J.C., Lam, S.M., Lee, K.T. & Mohamed, A.R. 2013. Self-assembly fabrication of ZnO hierarchical micro/nanospheres for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Material Science in Semiconductor Processing 16: 1542–1550.

Su, C.Y., Shao, C.L. & Liu, Y.C. 2011. Electrospun nanofibers of TiO2/CdS heteroarchitectures with enhanced photocatalytic activity by visible light. Journal of Colloid Interface Science 359: 220–227.

Su, J.L., Xuen, H.S., Gu, M., Xia, H. & Pan, F.S. 2014. Synthesis of spherical Cr2O3 nanoparticles by a microwave refluxing method and their photocatalytic properties. Ceramics International 40: 15051–15055.

Thongsuriwong, K.P., Amornpitoksuk, P. & Suwanboon, S. 2012. Photocatalytic and antibacterial activities of Ag-doped ZnO thin films prepared by a sol–gel dip-coating method. Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology 62: 304–312.

Wang, Q., Gang, B.Y. & Wang, S.Z. 2009. ZnO/Au hybrid nanoarchitectures: Wet-chemical synthesis and structurally enhanced photocatalytic performance. Environmental Science & Technology 43: 8968–8973.

Xia, S.J., Zhang, L.Y., Zhou, X.B., Shao, M.M., Pan, G.X. & Ni, Z.M. 2015. Fabrication of highly dispersed Ti/ZnO–Cr2O3 composite as highly efficient photocatalyst for naphthalene degradation. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 176: 266–277.

Yang, Y.B., Li, Z., Zhao, W., Zhao, C.X., Wang, Y. & Liu, X.Q. 2014. Controllable synthesis of Ag–CuO composite nanosheets with enhanced photocatalytic property. Materials Letters 120: 16–19.

Zhang, Y.J., Wang, Y.C., Yan, W., Li, T, Li, S. & HU, Y.R. 2009. Synthesis of Cr2O3/TNTs nanocomposite and its photocatalytic hydrogen generation under visible light irradiation. Applied Surface Science 255: 9508–9511.

 

 

*Pengarang untuk surat-menyurat; email: lamsm@utar.edu.my

 

 

 

sebelumnya