Optical Properties of ZnO/Alum Composites as Catalysts with Rapid Degradation for Methylene Blue

Zinc oxide (ZnO)/Alum (Al2(SO4)3) offers a promising, safety, and excellent composite based on natural materials with a high rate of degradation (4%/min). ZnO nano-powder was synthesized using 20% Al2(SO4)3 at different milling times (1, 10, and 15 h). X-ray diffraction spectra were used to investigate the crystal structure of the compound. The crystallite size is representation of the atomic parallel plane domain of the coherent arrangement of atoms which an inversely proportional to the photo-catalytic performance of composite. The potentiality of the material to collect energy after interaction with an electromagnetic power accident was within the elastic limit or energy deformation (ussp\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${u}_{\mathrm{ssp}}$$\end{document}), with a large value of ussp\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${u}_{\mathrm{ssp}}$$\end{document} indicating good results for the material as a catalyst. Optical properties and atomic bonding were determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In addition, the maximum electromagnetic wave penetration depths (0.0001703 ± 8.16E − 08, 0.000241 ± 1.125E − 05, and 0.0002336 ± 5.963E − 06 cm) into the composite were linearly proportional to the degradation activity performances for 1, 10, and 15 h. respectively. The photo-catalytic performance was improved successfully by the ZnO/Al2(SO4)3 composite, and ultraviolet–visible results showed that almost 80% photodegradation was achieved within a short period. The small porosity also showed a high relation to the photo-catalytic performance, and in this study, we observed the unique morphology of onde-onde Bugis (Celebes traditional food of Indonesia).