Preparation and utilization of Zn-La oxide nanocatalyst as a binary composite for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye: Optimization through RSM-BBD

In this research, the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye was explored by employing Zn-La (zinc-lanthanum) oxide nanocatalysts under UV irradiation. Preparation of Zn-La oxide nanocatalysts was executed utilizing the co-precipitation technique, and the surface and morphology of the fabricated nanocatalyst were examined via X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) methods. BET-BJH analysis demonstrated that the specific surface area of the Zn-La oxide nanocatalyst was 20.43 m2/g. Moreover, the response surface methodology (RSM) procedure was utilized to influence the operational factors i.e., catalyst amount, pH, H2O2 dose, and UV power. The quadratic model proposed via the RSM technique with a high R2 value of 0.89, demonstrates its reliability. Besides, the maximum percentage of MB dye removal reached 75.18% under optimal conditions, which include a catalyst amount of 12.05 mg, pH of 9, H2O2 dose of 0.44 mL, UV power of 23 W, and a reaction time of 45 min. Further, under the mentioned conditions, after 120 min, the MB degradation efficiency reached 98.8%. The kinetic study exhibited that the reaction rate constant was 0.0363 min−1. According to the outcomes, Zn-La oxides have a higher ability to remove MB. After 5 consecutive reuse rounds, the reduction in the yield of MB removal using Zn-La oxide nanocatalysts was 5.4%. This study demonstrates that the Zn-La oxide nanocatalyst can be promisingly utilized for the degradation of MB dye suspension solution.