Synthesis, characterizations and performance evaluation of Ag/Ag2O/ZnFe2O4 composite materials for organic dye degradation

Abstract

Processing Industries Such As Leather, Textile, Paper, Food And Cosmetics Uses Various Chemicals During Their Operations And Therefore, Produce Large Amount Of Industrial Effluents Containing Environmentally Toxic Substances Such As Organic Dyes And Other Heavy Metals. Most Of The Organic Dyes Are Biologically Non-Degradable If Released To The Environment And Pose A Threat To Human Health. Thus, These Toxic Substances Can Be Converted To Non-Toxic Substances Using Photocatalyst Materials Through Degradation Process. In This Work, (X)Ag2o/(1-X) Znfe2o4 (With X= 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 And 0.2) Composite Materials Were Prepared By Decorating Ag2o On Previously Green Method Synthesized Znfe2o4. The Green Synthesis Was Achieved By Using Ajuga Integrafolia Plant As A Capping/Stabilizing Agent. Optimization Of The Binary Composites Was Investigated With Respect To Performance And The Composite With A Composition Of X = 0.15 Or 15 % Of Ag2o Denoted By Azw-3 Showed An Optimum Value. The Effect Of Calcination Temperature On The Optimum Binary Composite And Formation Of Ag Were Studied In A Temperature Range Of 260?�?300 ??C, With An Optimum Calcination Temperature At 280 ??C. Moreover, The Effect Of The Ag2o Content (Weight %) In (X)Ag2o/(1-X) Znfe2o4 (With X = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 And 0.2) Subjected To Calcination Temperature Of 280??C On Performance Was Investigated. Thermal Analysis, Phase Purity &Chemical Composition, Microstructure, And Elemental Analysis Was Performed, Respectively, Using Thermogravimetric?�?Differential Thermal Analyzer (Tga - Dta), X-Ray Powder Diffraction (Xrd), Fourier-Transform Infrared (Ftir), And Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (Sem/Eds). Moreover, The Photocatalytic Performance Of The Synthesized Materials Was Evaluated Through Degradation Of An Organic Dye ?�? Methylene Blue (Mb) ?�?Under Visible Light Source Irradiation. The Performance Was Evaluated By Varying Ph Of The Mb For The Composite With Optimized Performance. Ultraviolet (Uv)-Visible Spectroscopy Was Used To Analyze The Concentration Of The Mb Before And After Degradation Performance At A Time T, And Thus The Corresponding Reaction Kinetics. The Composite With A Composition Of 15wt% Of Ag2o In (X)Ag2o/(1-X)Znfe2o4 Denoted By Aazw-3 Subjected To A Calcination Temperature Of 280 ??C Showed An Optimum Degradation Performance Around 90% Within 80 Min. Moreover, The Optimum Sample Showed Best Performance In Basic Media (At A Ph Around 10). This Study Suggests That The Present Materials Systems Have A Potential Of Degrading An Organic Dye From The Industrial Effluents Discharged From The Various Processing Industries.