Al2O3 modified with Zn2+ obtained by the sol-gel method applied to phenol degradation by heterogeneous photocatalysis
Keywords:
Al2O3:Zn2+, phenol degradation, photocatalysis, sol-gel synthesis, UV light.Abstract
The design and synthesis of modified Al2O3 with different Zn2+contents (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0% mass) was proposed, the materials were labeled as AZn05, AZn1, and AZn2, respectively. The preparation of the materials was carried out by the sol-gel synthesis method and they were applied in the degradation and mineralization of phenol in aqueous medium by heterogeneous photocatalysis. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, nitrogen physisorption, and photoluminescence. On the other hand, phenol degradation and mineralization were quantified by UV-Visible spectroscopy and total organic carbon, respectively. The photocatalytic evaluation showed that the unmodified Al2O3 gave a phenol degradation percentage of 67% and a mineralization of 59%. However, the addition of Zn2+ in alumina improved its photocatalytic efficiency, and it was observed that the most efficient material was AZn1 with a degradation and mineralization percentage of 79% and 68%, respectively. This finding shows that the incorporation of low concentrations of Zn2+ into Al2O3 has an effect on the increase of vacancies, promoting a higher photocatalytic efficiency than unmodified Al2O3, furthermore, photoluminescence analysis shows that the addition of Zn2+ decreases the recombination of the photogenerated pair e--h+.
The synthesis of novel materials based on Al2O3 opens an important gap for its study in photocatalysis since it has been little explored, in addition, its application in the remediation of contaminated water addresses a national problem that aims to mitigate the problems of water pollution.
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