COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF SOL-GEL AND COPRECIPITATION SYNTHESIS OF Zr DOPED ZnO FOR ENHANCED SOLAR DRIVEN DEGRADATION OF P- NITROANILINE
This research highlights the success of zirconium (Zr) doping in ZnO matrix by comparing and applying cost- effective synthesis techniques like sol–gel (SG) and coprecipitation (CPPT) to enhance the electronic and surfaceproperties of ZnO, thereby boosting solar-driven photocatalysis for industrial amine waste. The decline in band-gapenergy to 2.88eV from 3.07eV along with an increase in oxygen vacancy concentration enhances visible-light absorption and decreases electron–hole recombination, leading to improved photocatalytic performance. Theoptimised Zr–ZnO nanocatalysts achieved around 74% degradation of p-nitroaniline and a significant decreaseinTOC, indicating effective pollutant mineralisation. These findings provide valuable insights into the interplaybetween structure, properties and performance, emphasising the critical role of controlled dopant concentration(3–4wt%) in balancing charge carrier dynamics and active site availability. Such understanding is crucial for the rational design of highly efficient photocatalysts. From an environmental perspective, this research contributes toSustainable Development Goal-6 by presenting an effective method for eliminating toxic amine-based industrial pollutants using solar-assisted techniques. The synthesized material was analyzed by advanced techniques, includingXRD, EDS, FE-SEM, UV-DRS, HR-TEM, Raman and XPS. In summary, this study advances environmental remediation technologies and lays the groundwork for future investigations into doped semiconductor systems for sustainable amine wastewater treatment using natural sunlight
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