MALAYSIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY (MJChem)

MJChem is double-blind peer reviewed journal published by the Malaysian Institute of Chemistry (Institut Kimia Malaysia) E-ISSN: 2550-1658

Degradation of Safranin by a ZnO/CdS Photocatalyst under LED Light

Salma Izati Sinar Mashuri
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Farah Safiqah Natasha Hamid
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Izzati Shafiqah Zainal Abidin
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Nor Fadilah Chayed
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Lim Ying Chin
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Sivasangar Seenivasagam
Universiti Putra Malaysia Kampus Bintulu Sarawak
Noor Haida Mohd Kaus
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Noraini Hamzah
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Mohd Lokman Ibrahim
Universiti Teknologi MARA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v26i4.39

Keywords: Safranin; photocatalysis; wastewater; LED light; degradation; ZnO/CdS photocatalyst

Abstract

A ZnO/CdS photocatalyst was prepared using the sol-gel synthesis technique. The performance of the photocatalyst was evaluated using a Safranin solution assisted by 21-Watt LED visible light. The ZnO/CdS was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible-near-Infrared spectrophotometry (UV-Vis-NIR). This study found that the band gap of ZnO was successfully modified from 3.30 eV to 2.46 eV by combining it with CdS in a composite photocatalyst. The ZnO/CdS photocatalyst exhibited excellent crystallinity and formed a morphology similar to coral as a result of its very intricate three-dimensional geometric structure. The photocatalytic degradation displayed a remarkable level of activity, influenced by operational parameters including the initial concentration, pH of the safranin solution, and the amount of catalyst. The ZnO/CdS photocatalyst destroyed up to 100 % of the safranin dye solution within 120 min of reaction time using 0.5 g of ZnO/CdS photocatalyst and 300 mL of 5 mg/L of safranin solution, at pH 9. ZnO/CdS has potential as a highly efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants, particularly safranin solution, under LED visible light irradiation.

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Published 19 August 2024


Issue Vol 26 No 4 (2024): Malaysian Journal of Chemistry

Section