The
Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 16 No 3 (2012): 277 – 282
ELECTRODEPOSITED ZnO/Zn PHOTOCATALYSTS FOR THE
DEGRADATION OF BENZENE-TOLUENE-XYLENE MIXTURE IN AQUEOUS PHASE
(Fotomangkin
ZnO/Zn Electroendapan bagi Degradasi Campuran Benzena-Toluena-Xilena dalam Fasa
Akueus)
Lee Chien Ju, Wan Azelee Wan Abu Bakar*,
Rusmidah Ali
Faculty of
Science,
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor,
Malaysia
*Corresponding author: wazelee@ kimia.fs.utm.my
Abstract
The recognition
of the ability of volatile organic compounds, (VOCs) to pollute the ground
water is now well documented. VOCs such as benzene, toluene and xylene from the
petroleum industries processed water leaked through the underground old piping
system into the soils and groundwater during its transportation to the
wastewater plant. Photocatalysis have been used as a potential system in the
degradation of VOCs in the wastewater. However, the powdered form
photocatalysts that were used in various studies are difficult to be separated
from the aqueous solution at the end of the treatment. Therefore, the main
objective of this research is to prepare the electrodeposited photocatalysts
for the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbon mixture, benzene-toluene-xylene
(BTX) solution under UV light (354 nm). The concentrations of electrolyte and
electrodeposition voltages used to prepare the photocatalysts were studied for
their efficiency in the degradation. From the
research, ZnO/Zn prepared in 0.8 M NaOH and under 12 V possessed the best
catalytic degradation performance by degrading 32.37% of BTX in the solution. The ZnO/Zn photocatalyst was characterized using
X-ray Diffraction Techniques (XRD) which
illustrated high crystallinity of Zn species and reasonably high amorphous
phase of ZnO species.
Keywords: Electrodeposited photocatalyst, benzene-toluene-xylene,
UV-light, zinc oxide
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