Studying the Nanocomposite B/ZnO for Photocatalysis: Facile Control the Morphology via Sol-gel Method and Antibiotic Degradation Investigations

Abstract In this study, the ZnO and B/ZnO nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by a Sol-gel method. The photocatalytic activity of these materials was evaluated by the removal of antibiotics including tetracycline hydrochloride. After doping with B, the photocatalytic activity of the composite was improved and the optimum content of doped B was 3 wt.%. The effects of synthesis conditions on the morphology, structure and photocatalysis of B/ZnO were investigated. The physical properties of these material samples were analyzed by many different methods. The synthesis conditions significantly influenced the morphology and the photocatalytic performance of the B/ZnO nanocomposite. The optimal synthesis conditions were ethanol as a solvent, a temperature of 60 ℃ and a pH of 8. In 90 min, the TCH removal efficiency of the B/ZnO nanocomposite archived 98.28% with a rate constant of 0.048 min− 1. In addition, the electrical energy consumption was estimated and the electrical energy per order was only 35.44 W.h.L− 1.