Ultraviolet photocatalytic dye decomposition of malachite green dye by using cost effective ZnO nanoparticles

The photocatalytic dye decomposition of Malachite green (MG) dye was done with the exposure of ultraviolet light (UV) by using ZnO nanoparticles prepared from low cost laboratory grade powder. The nanoparticles were made by mechanical grinding method for 2hrs. The phase purity and size of the particles were observed by XRD and TEM technique. The transmission electron microscope image reveals that the particles are the mixture of spherical and hexagonal structure. The average dimension of the particle size is 104 nm. The reaction kinetics is studied. The reaction rate follows pseudo-first order reaction kinetics. The rate constant is found to be 0.16 min⁻¹. The ZnO nanoparticles were the low cost photocatalyst which degraded the Malachite green dye in the presence of UV light exposure within a short period of time.