Synthesis and Characterization of Poly(azomethine)/ZnO Nanocomposite Toward Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue, Malachite Green, and Bismarck Brown

Abstract

This research was carried out based on the significance of protecting the environment by preventing the contamination of water caused from effluents discharge from dyeing industries, effective nanocomposite were prepared to solve this problem. The poly(azomethine), ZnO, and poly(azomethine)/ZnO nanocomposites were prepared and characterized by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet (UV)–visible spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), scanning electron Microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Methylene blue (MB), Malachite green (MG), and Bismarck brown (BB) were degraded from water using poly(azomethine) (PAZ), zinc oxide (ZnO), PAZ/ZnO (PNZ) nanocomposites as photocatalyst in the presence of natural sunlight. The degradation efficiency and reaction kinetics were calculated, and the outcome of the photocatalytic experiments proved that the PAZ/ZnO nanocomposites reveals excellent photocatalytic activity and effective for decolorization of dye containing waste water than PAZ and ZnO in the presence of natural sunlight. The maximum degradation efficiency 97%, 96%, and 95% was obtained for PNZ nanocomposites at optimum dosage of catalyst as 500 mg and 50 ppm of MB, MG, and BB dye concentration, respectively. The maximum degradation time was 5 h. After photocatalytic study, the samples were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and UV–visible spectroscopy.