title: Sonocatalytic performance of Er-doped ZnO for degradation of a textile dye.
abstract: Pure and erbium (Er)-doped ZnO samples were synthesized through a sonochemical method and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The synthesized samples were used as a catalyst for the sonocatalytic decolorization of Reactive Orange 29 (RO29) as a model organic pollutant. The decolorization efficiency was 63%, 68%, 88%, and 75% for undoped, 2%, 4%, and 6% Er-doped ZnO, respectively. The effect of different experimental parameters including catalyst content, dye concentration and ultrasound power was investigated on the sonocatalytic decolorization of RO29. Among several radical scavengers (i.e. chloride, carbonate and sulfate anions and t-butanol), the chloride anion showed the most inhibitive effect on the sonocatalysis performance. Improvement of the sonocatalytic process by K2S2O8 and H2O2 enhancers was also studied. The reusability of the synthesized sonocatalyst was evaluated in several consecutive runs, and a decline of only 4% was observed in the process performance after five runs. The intermediates produced during the degradation of RO29 were identified by GC-MS analysis.
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory of Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, 51666-16471 Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address: a_khataee@tabrizu.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khataee
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory of Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, 51666-16471 Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Shabnam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saadi
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory of Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, 51666-16471 Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahdie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Safarpour
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yeungnam University, 712-749 Gyeongsan, South Korea. Electronic address: swjoo@yu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Sang Woo
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Joo
keywords: Decolorization; Nano-sonocatalyst; Reactive Orange 29; Sonocatalysis; ZnO nanoparticles