Photodegradation of rhodamine B over semiconductor supported gold nanoparticles: The effect of semiconductor support identity

Rhodamine B (RB) is a toxic dye used extensively in textile industry, which must be remediated before its drainage to environment. In the present study, supported gold nanoparticles on commercially available titania and zincite were successfully prepared and then their activity on the photodegradation of RB under UV A light irradiation was evaluated. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by ICP, BET, XRD, TEM and EDX. Kinetic results showed that Au/TiO2 was a photocatalyst inferior to Au/ZnO. This observation could be attributed to the strong reflection of UV irradiation by gold nanoparticles over TiO2 support.