Photocatalytic degradation of reactive brilliant blue X-BR in aqueous solution using quantum-sized ZnO

Quantum-sized ZnO was prepared using sol-gel method with zinc acetate dehydrate (Zn(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O) and lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LiOH·H₂O) as raw material. The ZnO particles annealed at different temperature were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Infrared absorption spectroscopy (IR) and UV-vis spectroscopy. The degradation rate of reactive brilliant blue X-BR in aqueous solution was used to evaluate the photocatalytic performance of the quantum-sized ZnO. The experimental results indicated that the photocatalytic property of the ZnO was excellent. The photocatalytic efficiency of quantum-sized ZnO was significantly influenced by the calcining heat. When calcined at 300 °C, its size is 6.78 nm and the photocatalytic performance is the best. The degradation rate of reactive brilliant blue X-BR could exceed 90% in 15 min at 35 °C, when the concentration of the quantum-sized ZnO was 0.35 mg/L.