Doctor blade sol-gel deposition of a nano-composite copper-zinc oxide on borosilicate glass for advanced oxidative degradation of textille dye in water environment

Nano-composite copper-zinc oxide (NCCZO) was deposited on borosilicate glass using a novel sol-gel/doctor-blade technique. The photocatalyst was prepared from copper acetylacetonate, zinc acetylacetonate, monoethanolamine (MEA) and citric acid monohydrate at 75 oC, aged for 1 d and annealed at 650 oC. The properties of the NCCZO nano-composite were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Results showed that the NCCZO was dominated by zincate phase (83.9%) and tenorite phase (16.1%) after sintered at 650 oC. FESEM shows that NCCZO is nonocrystallines with an average size of 55 nm. Photocatalytic activities of NCCZO deposited on borosilicate glass were investigated in for degradation of an azo dye M5B contaminant in water. The NCCZO exhibit an excellent photocatalytic activity due to reducing the electron-hole pair recombination. Kinetic parameters have been investigated in terms of a first order rate equation. The rate constant is evaluated as a function of the initial concentration of dye.