Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Evaluation of Manganese (III) Phthalocyanine Sensitized ZnWO₄ (ZnWO₄MnPc) for Bisphenol A Degradation under UV Irradiation

Abstract

ZnWO4MnPc was synthesized via a hydrothermal autoclave method with 1 wt.% manganese (iii) phthalocyanine content. The material was characterized for its structural and morphological features via X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission emission microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy-Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), N2 adsorption–desorption at 77K, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-visible/diffuse reflectance spectroscopy(UV-vis/DRS). ZnWO4MnPc photocatalytic performance was tested on the degradation of bisphenol A (BPA). The ZnWO4MnPc material removed 60% of BPA after 4 h of 365 nm UV irradiation. Degradation process improved significantly to about 80% removal in the presence of added 5 mM H2O2 after 4 h irradiation. Almost 100% removal was achieved after 30 min under 450 nm visible light irradiation in the presence of same concentration of H2O2. The effect of ions and humic acid (HA) towards BPA removal was also investigated.

Keywords

• photocatalysis
• hydrothermal autoclave
• ZnWO₄
• manganese (III) phthalocyanine sensitized ZnWO₄ photocatalyst
• emerging contaminants
• bisphenol A