On Wednesday December 24th, 2025, A master thesis titled “Phytogenic Synthesis of a ZnO/NiO Nanocomposite and Study the Photocatalytic Activity for Azo Dyes Degradation” held at Al-Khwarizmi college of engineering, biochemical engineering department, of the master candidate (Nawras Sadoon Ibrahim), and a degree of pass with distinction was awarded for her research findings:
This thesis aims to investigate the efficiency of an environmentally friendly nickel oxide/zinc oxide nanocomposite prepared using eucalyptus leaf extract in removing Acid Black 210 dye from contaminated water via adsorption and photocatalytic techniques. The nanocomposite was prepared at different molar ratios, and its performance was evaluated. The results showed that a 1:1 molar ratio achieved the highest removal efficiency. The study included characterization of the nanocomposite using advanced techniques, in addition to investigating the effect of important operational variables such as pH, temperature, composite dosage, and dye concentration.
The results proved that the adsorption process achieved a complete removal efficiency of 100% under optimal conditions, with good agreement with the kinetic and isothermal models. The thermodynamic parameters also showed that the process is spontaneous and endothermic. High efficiencies were also achieved in the photocatalytic process under ultraviolet radiation. Furthermore, a continuous system using an adsorption column was studied, revealing high break time under specific operating conditions. This confirms the system’s feasibility for practical application in treating dye-contaminated water.
The study recommended expanding the application of the NiO/ZnO-NCs nanocomposite to investigate its effectiveness in removing other types of pollutants, such as various dyes, pharmaceuticals, and wastewater from the oil and food industries. In addition to loading the NiO/ZnO-NCs nanocomposite onto suitable supporting materials, such as bentonite, to enhance surface activity and improve the removal efficiency of organic pollutants, along with redesigning packed bed adsorption columns with different configurations, as well as design floating columns, to study operational variables and apply the results on a large scale.
