| Abstrakt: |
The doping of nanoparticles with metals is an effective method to change the physical properties of ZnO materials. Therefore, this study aims to synthesize and characterize ZnO-Fe2O3 composites to determine the optimum ratio for the photodegradation of Methylene Blue dye. This was carried out with several variables including the effect of contact time and initial concentration of dye at conditions above pHpzc, namely, pH 7. Furthermore, the ZnO-Fe2O3 composites were prepared in various mole ratios including (1:0.5), (1:1), (1:1.5) and characterized using XRD, UV-Vis DRS, and SEM-EDS instruments, while the (1:1) ratio was chosen as the best composite to degrade Methylene Blue dye. The XRD characterization results showed that the 2θ angle of the (1:1) composite was 62° with a crystal size of 10.31 nm. Moreover, the SEM-EDS result showed an irregular surface shape with a small size and small pore gap, while the percentage of constituent elements including Zn, Fe, and O were 22.62%, 54.84%, and 22.55%, respectively. The optimum condition obtained showed that the effect of contact time at 180 minutes was 74.6%, while the effect of the initial concentration of dye at 5 ppm was 71.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
