Photocatalytic bleaching of Evans blue over zinc oxide particulate system

Abstract

Evans blue, an azo dye, and its mixture with amaranth are degraded photocatalytically in presence of zinc oxide. The optimum conditions for photobleaching of these dyes, like concentration of dye, pH, amount of semiconductor, light intensity, etc., have been studied. During the photocatalytic degradation, the semiconductor (ZnO) remains unaffected as evident from its FT-IR. The studied dyes are commonly used in dyeing, printing and textile industries and hence, the present work will be helpful in the treatment of coloured effluents from these industries.