Microwave-assisted synthesis of nitrogen-doped ZnO nanoparticles: Characterization and its comparative study on sonocatalytic, photocatalytic and sonophotocatalytic degradation of amido black 

Nano rods like N-doped ZnO structures have been prepared using microwave-assisted method. Synthesized nanoparticles have been characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. The N-doped ZnO catalyst has been further used for the degradation of amido black-10B (a non-biodegradable azo dye) using photocatalysis and sonocatalysis systems, separately and simultaneously. The experimental kinetic data followed the pseudo-first order model in photocatalytic, sonocatalytic and sonophotocatalytic processes but the rate constant of sonophotocatalysis has been found higher than the rate constants of photocatalysis and sonocatalysis processes due to the formation of more reactive radicals as well as active surface area of the catalyst.