An Overview on the Photocatalytic
Application of Transition Metal–ZnO
Nano-Photocomposites for Degradation
of Textile Effluents in Water
Parita Basnet and Somenath Chatterjee
Abstract Water remediation has become an urgent requirement to meet the growing
need of water scarcity. Organic dyes emanating from the textile industries without
proper treatment are a major source of water pollution and, therefore require urgent
treatment. This overview is based on one such strategy of converting organic dyes
present in aqueous medium into inorganic components by the process of photocatalysis. Photocatalytic dye degradation has been considered with transition metal–zinc
oxide (ZnO) nano-photocomposites (NPC) owing to their excellent photo-physical
properties. This overview covers three important aspects of photocatalysis using
transition metal–ZnO NPC: (i) requirement of photocatalytic dye degradation and
photocatalysis, (ii) need for an optimum transition metal dopant/deposit percentage
and (iii) the underlying mechanism occurring during photocatalysis upon UV, visible
and UV–Visible light irradiations.
Keywords ZnO Photocomposites · Transition-metal incorporation · Water
remediation · Dye degradation · Photocatalysis
1 Introduction
In regards to the technological importance of ZnO nanoparticles (NP) [1], owing
to their inexpensive synthesis, mechanical durability, innoxious nature and stability
under room temperature ambiance as well as under reducing hydrogen atmosphere
[2–6], improvement in their properties is progressing rapidly. Photocatalytic activity
of ZnO NP is extensively investigated to carry out several applications such as
wastewater detoxification, hydrogen gas evolution and others [2, 7, 8]. The photoabsorbing ability of ZnO NP, otherwise confined to the ultraviolet (UV) region, may
be enhanced by the introduction of metal NP [6]. Such type of metal introduction
may be grouped into doping and deposition [6]. Both these types help in widening the
P. Basnet · S. Chatterjee (B)
Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology,
Sikkim Manipal University, Sikkim, India
e-mail: somenath@gmail.com; somenath.c@smit.smu.edu.in
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
C. Bhuiyan et al. (eds.), Water Security and Sustainability,
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 115,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9805-0_20
239
Application of Transition Metal–ZnO
Nano-Photocomposites for Degradation
of Textile Effluents in Water
Parita Basnet and Somenath Chatterjee
Abstract Water remediation has become an urgent requirement to meet the growing
need of water scarcity. Organic dyes emanating from the textile industries without
proper treatment are a major source of water pollution and, therefore require urgent
treatment. This overview is based on one such strategy of converting organic dyes
present in aqueous medium into inorganic components by the process of photocatalysis. Photocatalytic dye degradation has been considered with transition metal–zinc
oxide (ZnO) nano-photocomposites (NPC) owing to their excellent photo-physical
properties. This overview covers three important aspects of photocatalysis using
transition metal–ZnO NPC: (i) requirement of photocatalytic dye degradation and
photocatalysis, (ii) need for an optimum transition metal dopant/deposit percentage
and (iii) the underlying mechanism occurring during photocatalysis upon UV, visible
and UV–Visible light irradiations.
Keywords ZnO Photocomposites · Transition-metal incorporation · Water
remediation · Dye degradation · Photocatalysis
1 Introduction
In regards to the technological importance of ZnO nanoparticles (NP) [1], owing
to their inexpensive synthesis, mechanical durability, innoxious nature and stability
under room temperature ambiance as well as under reducing hydrogen atmosphere
[2–6], improvement in their properties is progressing rapidly. Photocatalytic activity
of ZnO NP is extensively investigated to carry out several applications such as
wastewater detoxification, hydrogen gas evolution and others [2, 7, 8]. The photoabsorbing ability of ZnO NP, otherwise confined to the ultraviolet (UV) region, may
be enhanced by the introduction of metal NP [6]. Such type of metal introduction
may be grouped into doping and deposition [6]. Both these types help in widening the
P. Basnet · S. Chatterjee (B)
Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology,
Sikkim Manipal University, Sikkim, India
e-mail: somenath@gmail.com; somenath.c@smit.smu.edu.in
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
C. Bhuiyan et al. (eds.), Water Security and Sustainability,
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 115,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9805-0_20
239