Photodegradation of Methylene Blue Using Zinc Phthalocyanine Supported on MCM‐41 Under Visible Light in Low‐Cost 3D Printed Photoreactor

Abstract In this study, the preparation and characterization of MCM‐41 supported zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) heterogeneous photocatalyst and the investigation of its catalytic activity in the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB), an organic pollutant, are presented. The heterogeneous catalyst MCM‐41‐ZnPc was prepared by attaching ZnPc onto MCM‐41‐Cl material obtained by functionalizing MCM‐41 with 3‐chloropropyltriethoxysilane. MCM‐41‐ZnPc heterogeneous photocatalyst was characterized by FT‐IR, XRD, solid state UV‐vis, SEM‐EDX, TEM, TGA, and N 2 sorption analyses. The photocatalytic activity of MCM‐41‐ZnPc was tested in the photodegradation of MB. Photodegradation experiments were carried out using a laboratory‐made photoreactor that can be manufactured easily, cheaply, and quickly with a desktop 3D printer. For the 3D printing process of the photoreactor, PETG material, which is cheap, non‐toxic, and has higher heat resistance than PLA, was used, while a commercially available 50 W red power LED light at a wavelength of 630–660 nm was used as the light source in the photoreactor. According to the catalytic activity test results for MCM‐41‐ZnPc, 86% of 25 ppm MB was removed within 90 min. These results showed that the MCM‐41‐ZnPc heterogeneous catalyst was effective in reducing the concentration of MB in the medium through both photocatalytic and adsorption processes.