Enhanced photocatalytic activity of electrochemically synthesized aluminum oxide nanoparticles

In this study, aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized via an electrochemical method. The effects of reaction parameters such as supporting electrolytes, solvent, current and electrolysis time on the shape and size of the resulting NPs were investigated. The Al2O3 NPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. Moreover, the Al2O3 NPs were explored for photocatalytic degradation of malachite green (MG) dye under sunlight irradiation via two processes: adsorption followed by photocatalysis; coupled adsorption and photocatalysis. The coupled process exhibited a higher photodegradation efficiency (45%) compared to adsorption followed by photocatalysis (32%). The obtained kinetic data was well fitted using a pseudo-first-order model for MG degradation.