Synthesis of Ruthenium-Promoted ZnO/SBA-15 Composites for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye

Synthetic organic pigments like xanthene and azo dyes from the direct discharge of textile effluents are considered colossal global issues and attract the concern of scholars. Photocatalysis continues to be a very valuable pollution control method for industrial wastewater. Incorporations of metal oxide catalysts such as zinc oxide (ZnO) on mesoporous Santa Barbara Armophous-15 (SBA-15) support to improve catalyst thermo-mechanical stability have been comprehensively reported. However, charge separation efficiency and light absorption of ZnO/SBA-15 continue to be limiting its photocatalytic activity. Herein, we report a successful preparation of Ruthenium-induced ZnO/SBA-15 composite via conventional incipient wetness impregnation technique with the aim of boosting the photocatalytic activity of the incorporated ZnO. Physicochemical properties of the SBA-15 support, ZnO/SBA-15, and Ru-ZnO/SBA-15 composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N-2 physisorption isotherms at 77 K, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The characterization outcomes exhibited that ZnO and ruthenium species have been successfully embedded into SBA-15 support, andtheSBA-15 support maintains its structured hexagonal mesoscopic ordering in both ZnO/SBA-15 and Ru-ZnO/SBA-15 composites. The photocatalytic activity of the composite was assessed through photo-assisted mineralization of aqueous MB solution, and the process was optimized for initial dye concentration and catalyst dosage. 50 mg catalyst exhibited significant degradation efficiency of 97.96% after 120 min, surpassing the efficiencies of 77% and 81% displayed by 10 and 30 mg of the as-synthesized catalyst. The photodegradation rate was found to decrease with an increase in the initial dye concentration. The superior photocatalytic activity of Ru-ZnO/SBA-15 over the binary ZnO/SBA-15 may be attributed to the slower recombination rate of photogenerated charges on the ZnO surface with the addition of ruthenium.