Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles by the Sol-Gel Protein Route: A Viable and Efficient Method for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Ibuprofen

The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye and ibuprofen drug was studied in the presence of zinc oxide, synthetized by the protein sol-gel route. The catalyst, calcined at 1000 ºC, presented a tendentious morphology to filaments characteristic of ZnO crystalline, characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and confirmed by the presence of Zn energy band in X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). The result of ultraviolet (UV) light photodegradation of this work is comparable to others that made use of more complex routes, considering the degradation of 97% of methylene blue dye solution and the solution of the ibuprofen drug reached 60% of degradation after 1 h of light incidence. In this research, it is possible to report good degradation results, and the research differential is a material made with a simple and less aggressive route, capable of generating a stable and efficient material.

本研究以蛋白质溶胶-凝胶法（protein sol-gel route）合成的氧化锌（zinc oxide）为催化剂，探究其对亚甲基蓝（methylene blue）染料与布洛芬（ibuprofen）药物的光催化降解性能。经1000℃煅烧后的该催化剂，呈现出契合氧化锌晶体特征的丝状形貌，通过X射线衍射（X-ray diffraction, XRD）完成了物相表征，并经X射线光电子能谱（X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, XPS）检测到锌特征能带，验证了其物相组成。本研究的紫外（ultraviolet, UV）光催化降解结果可与采用更复杂合成路线的同类研究媲美：光照1小时后，亚甲基蓝染料溶液的降解率可达97%，布洛芬药物溶液的降解率亦达到60%。本研究不仅取得了优异的降解效果，其核心亮点在于采用简便温和的合成路线制备催化剂，可获得稳定且高效的催化材料。