Facile synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles and its photocatalytic activity in the degradation of 2-phenylbenzimidazole-5-sulfonic acid

Abstract Sphere-shaped zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized following an eco-friendly synthesis method, at mild temperature, using zinc acetate dihydrate as precursor. A comparative characterization was performed with and without a post-calcined step at 300 °C during 15 min. The synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles were characterized by FE-SEM, EDS, XRD, BET and UV–vis spectroscopy. After the calcined step, wurtzite was the only crystalline structure present in the sample. The photocatalytic activity of the calcined zinc oxide nanoparticles proved to be high since more than 90% of degradation of 2-phenylbenzimidazole-5-sulfonic acid was reached after 180 min of reaction time. The effects of different factors (i.e. radiation source, oxygen source, and catalyst) on the catalytic reaction were evaluated and, as expected, it was found that all these factors are required, and act synergistically in the photodegradation process.