Fabrication and Photocatalysis of ZnO-Based Coupled Photocatalysts

Water and air are indispensable to human. It is more difficult to deal with wastewater containing dyes. Also, the greenhouse effect as a result of carbon dioxide (CO2) leads to climate change and global warming. It is an important topic to effectively deal with dyes wastewater and reduce CO2 concentration. In this study, the zinc oxide (ZnO)-based coupled photocatalysts with high photocatalytic activity for dyes wastewater treatment and CO2 reduction will be developed for the degradation of dyes and reduction of CO2. To attain these goals, this project includes three parts. In the first part of this study, ZnO/SnO2, ZnO/CuO and ZnO/TiO2 will be synthesized by co-precipitation method in a rotating packed bed. The photocatalytic activity will be investigated as a function of the main operating of parameters, including kind of coupled photocatalysts, ratio of metal salts, concentration of zinc salts, rotating speed, flow rate of reactants, calcination temperature, and calcination time. In the second part of this study, ZnO-based coupled photocatalyst having higher activity in the first part will be used for the photocatalytic degradation of Basic Red 46 and Basic Yellow 28 in single and binary mixture. The dye decolorization and TOC degradation will be investigated with the effect of the main operating of parameters, which are pH of dye solutions, temperature of dye solutions, photocatalyst concentration, O2/N2 flow rate, and irradiation light wavelength. In the third part of this study, ZnO-based coupled photocatalyst having higher activity in the first part will be used for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 in liquid and gas phase. The effects of solution pH, reaction temperature, photocatalyst concentration, CO2 flow rate, and irradiation light wavelength on the CO2 reduction efficiency and amount and distribution of products generated will be investigated in liquid phase reduction. The effects of reaction temperature, photocatalyst amount, CO2 concentration, and irradiation light wavelength on the CO2 reduction efficiency and amount and distribution of products generated will be investigated in gas phase reduction.

Project ID:PB9907-10771
External Project ID:NSC99-2221-E182-018-MY3