Synthesis and characterization of novel TiO2-ZnO-CoO nanocomposite photocatalyst for photodegradation of methylene blue dye

TiO 2 -ZnO-CoO nanocomposite photocatalyst has been synthezised using sol-gel method. Titanium (IV) ethoxide, zinc acetate (Zn(CH 3 COO) 2 .2H 2 O) and cobalt acetate (Co(C 3 COO) 2 .4H 2 O) were used as precursors. TiO 2 and ZnO posses good photocatalytic ability in photodegradation of water pollutant. The disadvantage and weakness of photocatalytic reaction of TiO 2 and ZnO mostly happens at ultraviolet range and less at visible light. This research aimed to decrease the disadventage of TiO 2 and ZnO, using cobalt oxide. TiO 2 -ZnO-CoO nanocomposite photocatalyst was characterized by using SEM-EDS and XRD. SEM analysis showed homogenous and smooth morphology of TiO 2 -ZnO-CoO nanocomposite photocatalyst. EDS analysis revealed the TiO 2 -ZnO-CoO nanocomposite photocatalyst had O : Ti : Co : Zn = 32.64 : 37.39 : 11.85 : 18.12. In this study, we expose effect of amount of TiO 2 -ZnO-CoO nanocomposite photocatalyst, pH, and irradiation time on methylene blue dye photodegradation. Novel TiO 2 -ZnO-CoO nanocomposite photocatalyst was effective in photodegradation of methylene blue dye.