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Co-precipitation synthesis of ZnO–TiO2 nanostructure composites for arsenic photodegradation from industrial wastewater

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Abstract

In present work, controlled TiO2–ZnO ratio nanostructure composite powders synthesized via co-precipitation method from zinc acetate and titanium tetrachloride as starting materials were obtained. Samples with different Ti/Zn precursor ratios were prepared for the study. Photocatalytic activities of the particles were evaluated under UV and visible light sources, using both arsenic-laced solution and industrial copper smelting wastewater. Results generally show that nanopowder composites are formed. Samples with Ti/Zn precursor ratio of 90:10 and 50:50 showed considerable photocatalytic activities leading to up to 90% arsenic degradation under UV and visible light irradiation; however, compared experientially made a solution in the laboratory, the industrial wastewaters resulted in less arsenic photodegradation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Dr. Reza Naseh from National Iranian Copper Industries Co. (NICICO) for his kind industrial comments. Also, the authors acknowledge Dr. Davod Mohebbi-Kalhori for proofreading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

    M. Arabnezhad & M. Shafiee Afarani

  2. Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    A. Jafari

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  1. M. Arabnezhad
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  2. M. Shafiee Afarani
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  3. A. Jafari
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Correspondence to M. Shafiee Afarani.

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Editorial responsibility: J. Aravind.

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Arabnezhad, M., Shafiee Afarani, M. & Jafari, A. Co-precipitation synthesis of ZnO–TiO2 nanostructure composites for arsenic photodegradation from industrial wastewater. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 16, 463–468 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1585-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1585-7

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