The green synthesis of magnesium oxide nanoparticles in MFI type zeolite and its application as a photocatalyst

Rice husk silica (RHS), an agriculture waste, was used as a silica source for MFI zeolite synthesis. Magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles (NPs) were grown in zeolite substrates using a solid-state reaction. The synthesized nanocomposite (NC) was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The BET results demonstrated that the specific surface area of MgO/RHS-MFI NC was smaller than RHS-MFI zeolite. Magnesium oxide NP was found capable of being encapsulated into pores of RHSMFI zeolite. This research’s most principal objective was the evaluation of the photocatalytic process capability of MgO/RHS-MFI zeolite heterogeneous nanocomposite over methylene blue (MB) dye. Results showed that the MB degradation reached 80 % under UV light at pH=9. RHS-MFI affected the photocatalytic activity of magnesium oxide due to the decrease in the recombination rate of the electronhole in magnesium oxide semiconductor. A plausible oxidation mechanism was also proposed.