Imidazole-functionalized plasma-treated ZnO and -Fe₂O₃ composites for catalytic degradation of dye

In this work, efficient catalyst is prepared using ZnO and alpha-Fe2O3 along with a surface modification using 2-methylimidazole. Surface modified feature of the catalyst is confirmed by the shifting of vibrational frequency to higher wavenumber. Photocatalytic properties of the as-synthesized and surface modified composites are investigated by measuring the degradation of Methylene Blue (cationic) dye under sunlight irradiation. Both the samples exhibited a similar photocatalytic efficiency of 78% under 300 min. The effect of surface modification shows no significant enhancement on the cationic dye removal. Further, the samples are tested for the degradation of Methyl Blue (anionic) dye in dark condition to validate the effect of functionalization. Surface functionalized sample exhibits 96% efficiency compared to 86% for the pristine sample. Thus, surface modification has extended to be one of the promising techniques for enhancing the catalytic properties of composites.