facile synthesis of zn-tio2 nanostructure, using green tea as an eco-friendly reducing agent for photodegradation of organic pollutants in water

The present study synthesizes zn-tio2 photocatalyst via a simple and economic green rout, in which green tea is applied as a green reducing agent due to the presence of polyphenols molecules. polyphenol molecules in green tea act as a reductant, thus changing zn^2+ to metallic zn. the by-produced nanocmposites are characterized by using xrd, fesem, eds, and drs. zn-tio2 photocatalyst possesses great efficient charge separation properties. in order to investigate the presence of zn, different weight ratio of zn to tio2 (viz. 5 wt%, 10 wt%, 15 wt%, 20 wt%, 25 wt%, 30 wt%, 35 wt%, 40 wt%, 45 wt%, and 50 wt%) have been synthesized and their performance in acid orange 7 (ao7) photodegradation, compared with pure tio2. according to the results, the compound with 25 wt% zn shows 97% degradation of ao7 as a model pollutant. also, it has been shown that after three tests with edta, benzoic acid, and under ar gas, photodegradation of ao7 with zn-tio2 photocatalyst mainly depends on photogenerated holes.