Preparation and photocatalytic kinetics of nano-ZnO powders by precipitation stripping process

Ultra-fine zinc oxalate powders were prepared through a precipitation stripping method with bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (HDEHP) diluted by tetrachloride carbon as the extractant, and oxalic acid ethanol aqueous solution as the re-extractant and precipitator. Zinc oxide powders were obtained by decomposing zinc oxalate powders at 450°C. The prepared zinc oxide powders were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Thermogravimetric analysis (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transmission infrared (FT-IR) spectrum. The photocatalytic performance of methylene blue by zinc oxide was studied based on the Langmuir model and Photo-Layer model. The results show that some zinc oxide powders were micro-multipore materials with hexagonal crystal. The particle size was around 32 nm. The photocatalytic process was the control step in the chemical reaction. The photo catalytic process followed pseudo-first order kinetics and •OH concentration inside the photo-layer in different reaction condition were calculated according to the Photo-Layer model.