Synthesis of nanocauliflower ZnO photocatalyst by potato waste and its photocatalytic efficiency against dye

Using different amount of potato peels, ZnO photocatalysts (ZO-PC) have been prepared by facile combustion process followed by the calcination at 500 °C for 10 min, and their obtained nanomaterials have been investigated through various techniques like powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) combined with EDX, transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV–Vis spectroscopy in DRS mode. Moreover, the spectrophotometry technique has been employed to investigate the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV irradiation light ( λ < 400 nm) by fabricated ZO-PCs. Among them, the lowest peel-containing sample was exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity as compared to others also optical bandgap energy ( E g ) was increased with increasing of peels from 3.39 to 3.49 eV.