Synthesis of novel zeolite NaA/NaY@ZnFe۲O۴ nanocomposite for sonocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) organic dye

Sonocatalysis is an effective technique for the remediation of effluents and removal of organic dyes. In this work, the ZnFe۲O۴ nanoparticles were successfully immobilized on the NaA/NaY zeolite for the sonodegradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. The as-synthesized NaA/NaY@ZnFe۲O۴ zeolite nanocomposite was characterized by FESEM-EDAX, VSM, FTIR and XRD. The effects of various parameters such as initial dye concentration, irradiation time, catalyst dosage and H۲O۲ concentration have been assessed to obtain the maximum sonocatalytic efficiency. About ۹۹.۵% of MB dye was removed under the optimized conditions i.e. ۲۵ mg/L of initial MB concentration and ۰.۱ g of NaA/NaY@ZnFe۲O۴ amount after irradiation time of ۱۶ min. According to the obtained findings, the NaA/NaY@ZnFe۲O۴ zeolite sonocatalyst has a high activity to degrade the MB in the presence of H۲O۲ and ultrasonic (US). The .OH radicals were also considered as the main reactive species on the degradation of MB under US irradiation. Moreover, the reproducibility of the NaA/NaY@ZnFe۲O۴ sonocatalyst was implemented, which proved that it can be recycled up to five runs with almost trivial loss of catalytic performance. In addition to this, the MB sonodegradation over the NaA/NaY@ZnFe۲O۴ zeolite catalyst in the presence of US/H۲O۲ system demonstrates a great activity to remove the organic pollutants from effluents.

Keywords:

NaA/NaY@ZnFe۲O۴ , zeolite , nanocomposite , methylene blue (MB) , sonodegradation