Synthesis and study of photocatalytic properties of ZnO nanoparticles by the addition of ZnWO4

ZnO (Zinc Oxide) is a whell-known semiconductor that widely used in many industries. In this research, photocatalytic activity of ZnO and nanocomposite resulting from it combination with ZnWO4 were investigated. The effect of adding ZnWO4 to ZnO nanoparticles was studied on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO-ZnWO4 nanocomposites. The water in oil microemulsion method was used to synthesize nanoparticles. and various stoichiometric ratios of this nanocomposite were synthesized to study photocatalytic properties. Characteristic were studied by X-ray diffraction, Field-scattering electron microscopy, Transmitted electron microscopy, and Ultraviolet-absorption spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction results show that ZnO-ZnWO4 nanocomposites with nanocrystals formed and the results of TEM showing the particle size distribution in the range of 40 to 60 nm. The results show that the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of methylene blue by ZnO nanoparticles has been significantly enhanced by the addition of ZnWO4 and the highest degradation efficiency is related to ZnO-30% ZnWO4 nanocomposite with 96.57%.