ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Innovative environmental cleansing: photocatalytic degradation of pesticides using gallium–zirconium-loaded activated carbon

Sara Majid, Khuram Shahzad Ahmad, Ghulam Abbas Ashraf, and Kareem Yusuf

Materials and Environmental Chemistry Lab, Lab-E21, Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

E-mail: dr.k.s.ahmad@fjwu.edu.pk

Received: 30 April 2024  Accepted: 7 July 2024

Abstract:

Effective removal or degradation over heterogeneous catalysts in ambient circumstances remains a challengeable research topic for environmental cleansing and carbon compound utilization. In this work, Prunus cerasifera seeds biomass was carefully converted to mesoporous activated carbon (AC) by chemical activation. AC was loaded with zirconium (Zr) and gallium (Ga) to create AC-Zr and AC-Zr-Ga, respectively. Numerous analytical techniques, including BET, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and EDX, were used to characterize the newly synthesized adsorbents. According to BET analysis, the mesopore volume of 0.008 cc/g, or 73% of the total pore volume, was paired with a specific surface area of 1710 m²/g in the specially synthesized activated carbon. However, AC-Zr showed improved mesopore volume of 0.091 cc/g and higher specific surface area of 1802 m²/g. Nevertheless, the overall surface properties do not change much, when gallium metal is placed onto the AC-Zr surface. In order to evaluate the degradation/adsorption capacity of AC-Zr-Ga, the degradation extent of ten pesticides was examined in both light and dark environments. When exposed to sunlight, the as-prepared AC-Zr-Ga exhibits effective photocatalytic elimination of ten specific pesticides. These findings demonstrate the efficacy of the precisely synthesized, gallium and zirconium-loaded activated carbon, creating new opportunities for innovative environmental remediation initiatives.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords: Environmental Chemistry; Catalysts; Elimination; Removal; Activated carbon

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-024-03612-1

Chemical Papers 78 (13) 7541–7558 (2024)