Synthesis and Characterization of Mesoporous Silica SBA-15 and ZnO/SBA-15 Photocatalytic Materials from the Ash of Brickyards

Abstract

SBA-15 has been successfully synthesized from ash of brickyard with the surface area of 700.100 m2/g, pore volume of 0.813 cm3·g−1, and pore size of 7.5 nm. SBA-15 material has been modified by a simple impregnation method, and the ZnO/SBA-15 obtained material retains the hexagonal structure of SBA-15, but the hexagonal capillary tube size is reduced, in which the surface area, volume of pores, and pore size is 212.851 m2·g−1, 0.244 cm3·g−1, and 3.7 nm, respectively. The ZnO/SBA-15 materials were investigated by the photodegradation of methylene blue under ultraviolet light and exhibited significant photocatalytic activity with the reached MB removal efficiency about 96.69%.