Characterization of Synthesized ZnO Nanoparticles and their Application in Photodegradation of Methyl Orange Dye Under Fluorescent Lamp Irradiation

Nanotechnology is promising field in waste water treatment. The aim of this study thus was to assess the use of synthesized ZnO nanoparticles in photo degradation of dyes under fluorescent light source of irradiation. on the surface of zinc oxide nanoparticles. The basis of ZnO/UV photo-catalytic process is the semi-conduct optical stimulation of ZnO as a result of electromagnetic ray absorption. Precipitation technique was used to synthesize ZnO nanoparticles. By varying experimental conditions two samples L1 and L2 were synthesized. They were characterized using Power X-ray Diffraction (PXRD). The PXRD results showed diffraction peaks which were indexed to ZnO reference as per JCPIDS file 80-0075. The size of ZnO nanoparticles was found to be 26 nm. The effect of process parameters like, amount of the photocatalyst, initial dye concentration and contact time on the extent of photodegradation have been investigated. The results showed that percentage removal of the dye increases with increase in contact time and amount of photocatalyst, it decreases with increase in initial dye concentration. The results revealed that dyes could be removed by semiconducting nanomaterials assisted by photocatalytic degradation.