enhanced photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol in water solution using sr-doped znal2o4 nanoparticles

Znal2o4 and sr-doped znal2o4 nanoparticles were synthesized by co-precipitation using ammonia as precipitating agent, followed by thermal treatment at 700°c. x-ray diffraction (xrd), field emission scanning electron microscopy (fe-sem), and the brunauer-emmett-teller (bet) were employed to clarify the structure and morphology of the samples. in addition, the presence of sr in sr-doped znal2o4 nps was further evidenced from energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (edx). the photocatalytic activity of znal2o4 and sr-doped znal2o4 nanoparticles were evaluated in the photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-dcp) in aqueous media under the uv irradiation technique. the effect of various parameters, including catalyst dosage, 2,4-dcp concentration, ph, and temperature, on the degradation of 2,4-dcp was investigated. with 0.6 wt% sr doped znal2o4 samples after 60 min irradiation, 100% of 2,4-dcp photodegradation was observed in acidic conditions, while with undoped znal2o4 samples only 67% 2,4-dcp was removed upon uv irradiation for 200 min. the reusability of the catalyst was examined under optimized conditions. the results demonstrate that sr-doped znal2o4 nanoparticles exhibit considerably high catalytic stability with more than 90% degradation after the third catalytic cycle.