Photocatalysis using zinc oxide-zinc phthalocyanine composite for effective mineralization of organic pollutants

Abstract

The promising photosensitizing property of Zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) diversifies its use for photocatalytic activities. In this paper, an unsubstituted zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) was synthesized according to literature and characterized. Various ZnO–ZnPc composite photocatalysts were prepared with the synthesized unsubstituted zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and zinc oxide (ZnO) varying the amount of zinc phthalocyanine. The ZnO–ZnPc composites were characterized and analyzed for optimum sensitization to yield the highest photocatalytic activity in the visible light range. Photodegradation tests were performed in the ultraviolet and visible light range with photocatalysts to compare photocatalytic activity and investigate optimum mineralization of Reactive dark blue M-2GE dye. An improvement of the photodegradation was established for the ZnO–ZnPc composites in the visible region. Gas chromatography (GC/MS) analyses were performed to determine intermediates formed during dye mineralization. A tentative degradation path of observed transitional compounds was projected.

Keywords

• Zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc)
• ZnO–ZnPc composite
• Solar irradiation
• Photosensitization
• Reactive dark blue M-2GE
• Mineralization