Scholarly work in the Department of Indstrial Chemistry

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Browsing Scholarly work in the Department of Indstrial Chemistry by Author "Bala Muhammad D."

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    Carbon-covered alumina-supported ZnO nanocatalysts with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance for the removal of dyes
    (Environmental Technology & Innovation, 2022) Folawewo Abayomi David; Bala Muhammad D.
    In this study, environmentally sustainable catalysts were prepared economically as a positive step in directly using visible light to degrade wastewater polluted with industrial dyes. Hence, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocatalysts doped with carbon-covered alumina (CCA) were fabricated by the sol–gel technique using zinc acetate as the precursor and CCA as the support. Various methods were used to characterize the catalysts, including XRD, TEM, EDS-SEM UV/Vis-DRS, EIS, PL, and BET. The new CCA-supported catalysts are crystalline with high surface areas. The photocatalytic capability of the catalysts was studied using azo dyes as model pollutants. Hence, sunset yellow and tartrazine were degraded up to 99% by the catalysts, which were also recycled five times without loss in activity. Details on the kinetics and mechanistic mode of catalyst action are presented and analysed. Chemical oxygen demand measurements further confirmed the mineralization of the dyes. The study showed that the ZnO/CCA/Vis photocatalysis has good prospects of adoption for large-scale pre-treatment of dye-polluted wastewaters. This technique is suited to the food, textile and allied industries that employ substantial quantities of colourants.
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    Nanocomposite Zinc Oxide-Based Photocatalysts: Recent Developments in Their Use for the Treatment of Dye-Polluted Wastewater
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2022) Folawewo Abayomi David; Bala Muhammad D.
    This review highlights current developments in utilising zinc oxide (ZnO) composite materials as photocatalysts. Systematic analyses of the various synthetic methods for producing ZnO-based hetero-structured materials, the variety of methods for their characterisation, their mechanisms of action, and widespread applications for the degradation of pollutants are discussed. Structure/activity relationships and methods of improving on some of the recognised shortcomings of ZnO-based nanomaterial catalysts are also presented.
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    Visible light treatment of azo dye-contaminated water by Ni- and Co-doped-ZnO nanoparticles supported on carbon-covered alumina
    (Water Practice & Technology, 2023) Folawewo Abayomi David; Bala Muhammad D.
    Metal-ion (Co and Ni)-doped-zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocatalysts were successfully embedded onto carbon-covered alumina (CCA) supports via a simple, green sol–gel technique. The nanocatalysts were characterised by various analytical, microscopic, and spectroscopic techniques. The CCA-embedded nanocatalysts were crystalline with high surface areas and pore volume compared to the free metal-ion–doped-ZnO nanocatalysts while retaining the wurtzite phase of the core ZnO. The influences of the dopant content and the CCA on the optical and dye removal activities of the ZnO were investigated. The materials were photocatalytically active under visible light irradiation. Congo red and methyl orange dyes were used as model pollutants, and the reactivity followed a pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics. The reaction rate of the CCA-supported nanocatalysts showed doping with Co.Ni. The CCA/metal-ion-doped-ZnO was found to have photocatalytic activities better than the CCA-supported ZnO.