Employ ZnO/NiO Nanocomposites as Catalyst for Photo Degradation of Methylene Orange Dye in Water

This work attempts to enhance the photocatalytic activity of methylene orange by adding X% ZnO/NiO nanoparticles. For this purpose, zinc oxide and nickel oxide nanoparticles and nanocomposites have been prepared (where X: 100, 75, 50, 25, and 0%). The structural properties of the prepared nanomaterials were studied using XRD, FESEM, and EDX. The result revealed that the particle distribution was homogeneous, with overlap between the hexagonal zinc oxide and cubic nickel oxide lattices. On the other hand, the energy band gap of the prepared samples was determined using UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The performance of ZnO and NiO particles and their nanocomposites in the photodegradation of methylene orange (MeO) dye was evaluated using UV light as a catalyst. The photocatalytic efficiency was determined through the photodegradation of MeO dye. The results show that the ZnO/NiO nanocomposites give a good photodegradation rate. The results show that the peak degradation of the dye is at the wavelength of 465 nm, and the highest photodegradation efficiency is 76% for the Zn-25% nanocomposites after 180 minutes of irradiation.