ABSTRACT
160 161In this article, a novel approach for the synthesis of graphene oxide-zinc oxide (GO-ZnO) nanophotocatalyst by acoustic cavitation technique is reported. Initially, graphene oxide (GO) was prepared from graphite powder by using modified Hammer’s method in the presence of ultrasonic irradiation. The prepared GO and GO-ZnO nanophotocatalysts were characterized by XRD, FESEM, and TEM analysis. Further prepared GO-ZnO nanophotocatalyst was used for the degradation of malachite green (MG) dye (500 mg/L) in aqueous solution using a hybrid advanced oxidation process (AOPs) consisted of hydrodynamic cavitation (HC), GO-ZnO photocatalysis, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Hydrodynamic cavitation setup consists of a centrifugal pump having the power rating of 0.5 HP, 2 mm diameter of orifice hole as a cavitation device and 9 W UV-visible light for a typical hybrid AOPs. It has been observed that MG was effectively decolorized up to 99% at pH 8.5, and at inlet pressure of 2 bars in 90 min using the hybrid process.
