Majid Hashemi

The introduction of dyes into nature through wastewater poses many risks to human health and the environment.in this study an attempt has been made to introduce an effective photocatalyst to remove water pollution. In this study, chitosan and chitosangelatin polymers with glutaraldehyde cross links were prepared in the presence or absence of a surfactant (CT1, CT2, CTG1, CTG2). Chitosan- and chitosan-gelatinbased ZnO composites were prepared and characterized by means of XRD, FT-IR and SEM methods. The ability of these composites for photocatalytic decomposition of methylene blue in water was studied under direct sun light. SEM results showed that ZnO has hexagonal structure, CT and CTG polymers are amorphous particles in various sizes, ZnO-CTG1 composite contains spherical particles with average diameter of 10 m and ZnO-CTG2 composite contains nonsymmetrical spheres in various sizes. Photocatalytic activity of ZnO-CTG1 composite was more than other composites.