ZnO nanostructures with controlled morphological and optical properties for applications as efficient photocatalyst for malachite green degradation

This study aims to comparatively investigate the morphological and optical characteristics of zinc oxide nanoparticles as a function of the preparation conditions. A series of ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by facile precipitation method at constant temperature, by varying the zinc sources (zinc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ceramics international 2024-09, Vol.50 (18), p.34291-34303
Main Authors: Chibac-Scutaru, Andreea Laura, Podasca, Viorica-Elena, Dascalu, Ioan Andrei, Rusu, Daniela, Melinte, Violeta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Controlled morphological and optical properties
Dye degradation
Photocatalysis
Precipitation method
ZnO nanoparticles
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Summary:This study aims to comparatively investigate the morphological and optical characteristics of zinc oxide nanoparticles as a function of the preparation conditions. A series of ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by facile precipitation method at constant temperature, by varying the zinc sources (zinc acetate, zinc nitrate and zinc chloride) or the precipitant nature (hexamethylenetetramine, urea). The structural, morphological and optical attributes of the prepared ZnO samples were assessed by SEM, XRD, FTIR, UV–Vis and photoluminescence analyses. The morphology of the achieved samples varies from spiky sticks to hexagons or foils with irregular shapes, observing that urea favour the development of two- or three-dimensional ZnO nanostructures, while hexamethylenetetramine predominantly triggered the formation of highly organized one-dimensional structures. The XRD patterns of all ZnO samples matches zincite crystalline hexagonal phase and the evaluation of crystallite size revealed higher values for the samples prepared in the presence of hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA). The optical band gap of ZnO NPs, as estimated from the UV–Vis absorption spectra, varied slightly from 3.13 to 3.21 eV, while fluorescence investigation proves that samples prepared with urea precipitant have a lower rate of charge recombination. Tests on the photocatalytic degradation of malachite green dye under UV light irradiation demonstrated that the dynamics of photogenerated charge carriers play a significant role in the photocatalytic performance of ZnO samples.
ISSN:0272-8842
DOI:10.1016/j.ceramint.2024.06.248