<span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold" lang="EN-US">Highly active ZnS loaded TiO₂photocatalyst for mineralization of phenol red sodium salt under UV-A light </span>

Abstract

ZnS loaded TiO₂ (ZnS-TiO₂) has been successfully synthesized by precipitation-cum-sol gel method. The photocatalytic activity of (ZnS-TiO₂) has been investigated for the degradation of phenol red sodium salt in aqueous solution using UV-A light. In presence of ZnS, there is a shift in the absorbance of TiO₂ in both UV and visible region. ZnS-TiO₂ is found to be more efficient than bare TiO₂, TiO₂-P25 and ZnS at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">p</i>H 6.5 for mineralization of the dye under UV-A light. The effects of operational parameters such as the amount of photocatalyst and dye concentration on photomineralization of the dye have been analyzed. The mineralization has been confirmed by COD measurements. Mechanism of degradation by ZnS-TiO₂is proposed. The catalyst is found to be reusable.