Eco-Friendly Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Using Green Alkaline Solution for Enhanced Solar-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue

Nedra Abbes; Sana Fridjine; Thouraya Barhoumi; Nejib Sejri; Boubaker Jaouachi; Jun Xu; Imene Bekri Abbes

doi:10.22146/ijc.112000

Eco-Friendly Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Using Green Alkaline Solution for Enhanced Solar-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue

https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.112000

Nedra Abbes⁽¹⁾, Sana Fridjine⁽²⁾, Thouraya Barhoumi⁽³⁾, Nejib Sejri⁽⁴⁾, Boubaker Jaouachi⁽⁵⁾, Jun Xu^(6*), Imene Bekri Abbes⁽⁷⁾

(1) School of Textile Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300000, China; Textile Engineering Laboratory (LGTEX), Higher Institute of Technical Studies of Ksar Hellal (ISET), University of Monastir, Monastir 5000, Tunisia
(2) Physical Chemistry Laboratory for Mineral Materials and Their Applications, National Center for Research in Materials Sciences, Borj Cedria Technopark, Soliman 8027, Tunisia
(3) Physical Chemistry Laboratory for Mineral Materials and Their Applications, National Center for Research in Materials Sciences, Borj Cedria Technopark, Soliman 8027, Tunisia
(4) Textile Engineering Laboratory (LGTEX), Higher Institute of Technical Studies of Ksar Hellal (ISET), University of Monastir, Monastir 5000, Tunisia
(5) National School of Engineers of Monastir, University of Monastir, Monastir 5000, Tunisia
(6) School of Textile Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300000, China
(7) Laboratory of Composite Materials and Clay Minerals, National Center of Materials Research, Borj Cedria Technopark, Slimene 2084, Tunisia
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) particles were green-synthesized using an aqueous extract of olive wood ash as a sustainable alkaline precipitating agent. The extract pH stabilized near 13 (40 wt.%), confirming strong alkalinity. A two-step process involved forming a zinc carbonate precursor, followed by calcination at 900 °C. X-ray diffraction confirmed highly crystalline hexagonal wurtzite ZnO. Optical analysis revealed a reduced bandgap of 2.80 eV, significantly lower than the conventional value of 3.37 eV, attributed to lattice defects and elemental incorporation. Evaluating the photocatalytic efficiency against methylene blue under natural solar light, the green-synthesized ZnO achieved nearly 99% removal within 2 h, outperforming conventional ZnO due to enhanced solar absorption from its narrowed bandgap. This work validates a zero-waste pathway for synthesizing highly active nanomaterials, setting a strong precedent for circular economy applications in sustainable photocatalysis.

Keywords

bandgap; methylene blue; olive wood ash; photocatalysis; zinc oxide (ZnO)

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.112000