Synthesis, Characterization and Investigation of ZnO/GO Nanocomposite Sonophotocatalytic Properties for Degradation of Rhodamine B Dye

In this research, the sonophotocatalytic (SPC) technique was investigated as one of the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) methods for the degradation and purification of toxic, resistant, and non-degradable rhodamine B (RhB) pollutant in the aqueous phase. For this purpose, the effect of simultaneous, and separate use of ultraviolet (UV) and ultrasonic (US) radiation for the chemical degradation of dye pollutant, has been investigated. First, ZnO/GO nanocomposite was synthesized and characterized via the sol-gel method. The morphology, structure, and size of the synthesized particles were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Absorption spectra of catalyst and dye contamination were investigated using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The sonophotocatalytic process showed higher degradation and quality compared to the separate photocatalytic and sonocatalytic methods. The ZnO/GO catalyst showed 98% degradation after UV and US radiation simultaneously, while photocatalytic and sonocatalytic methods showed 68 and 85% degradation, respectively, during the same period. According to the experimental results, the kinetics degradation of ZnO/GO nanocomposite was investigated and it well followed the first-order kinetic equation.