Photodegradation of p-nitrophenol Catalyzed by ZnO/MWCNTs Composite Catalyst in Water

摘要

Photodegradation of p-nitrophenol catalyzed by ZnO/MWCNTs composite in water was investigated. The effects of pH, irradiation time, catalyst loading, initial substrate concentration and MWCNTs content on the degradation were investigated. Experiment results revealed that the optimal conditions were a p-nitrophenol concentration of 60.0 mg/L at pH 5.0 with catalyst loading of 10.0 g/L under solar irradiation for the illumination of 180 min. The highest efficiency on photodegradation of p-nitrophenol can be achieved with an optimal MWCNTs/ZnO mass ratio of 0.16%. Possible decomposing mechanisms were also discussed. The repeatability of photocatalytic activity was tested. The photocatalyst was used ten cycles with degradation efficiency still higher than 95%. The results of the study showed the feasible and potential use of ZnO/MWCNTs composite in degradation of toxic organic pollutants.