OPTIMIZATION OF TiO2 PHOTOCATALYST THROUGH THE VARIATION OF ZINC RATIO FOR DEGRADATION ORGANIC DYE METHYLENE BLUE

Abstract

The synthesis of ZnTiO₂ photocatalyst materials using the sol-gel method has been successfully carried out, which will be used to degrade organic dyes in water solvent. Several conventional methods have been implemented to address organic pollutant water contamination. ZnTiO₂ is a semiconductor material and could be used as a photocatalyst material. In this study, ZnTiO₂ was successfully synthesized with variations of Zinc (Zn) at 8%, 13%, and 26%. Analysis of the band gap energy shows that the addition of Zn to the photocatalyst material decreases the bandgap values to 2.90, 2.87, and 2.79 eV, respectively. Furthermore, the acidity test of the photocatalyst material using the IR method confirms the presence of Zn with vibration spectra between Zn and Nitrogen atoms originating from ammonia. The interaction between the two can be seen in the vibration spectrum in the area between 1100 cm-¹ and 1200 cm^-1. From the measurement of the specific surface area density of the photocatalyst material, values of 0.015, 0.018, and 0.010 mol/g were obtained for variations of Zn at 8%, 13%, and 26%, respectively. Finally, a photocatalytic test was performed on ZnTiO₂ material against methylene blue (MB) dye for 1 hour using UV light and visible light. The results showed MB degradation values of 56%, 63%, and 68% under visible light and 80%, 87%, and 91% using UV light for each increased Zn variation. These results indicate the effectiveness of ZnTiO₂ in degrading methylene blue increases as the Zn metal ratio increases.