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Effect of precursors on structural, optical and surface properties of ZnO thin film prepared by spray pyrolysis method: efficient removal of Cu (II) from wastewater

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Abstract

In this study, ZnO thin films were prepared with different precursors using the spray pyrolysis technique, zinc acetate (ZAC-0.2), zinc chloride (ZCL-0.2), and dehydrated zinc nitrate (ZNH-0.2) precursors. The formation of ZnO thin films was confirmed using a variety of characterization techniques, including UV–vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The primary aim of this study is to explore how different precursor materials affect the properties of ZnO thin films and to demonstrate the efficacy of these films in removing copper ions from wastewater. The structure, microstructure, and optical properties of these materials were investigated, along with their adsorption activity. The results revealed that all ZnO films exhibited a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure. The ZAC-0.2 sample demonstrated the highest transparency within the 400–800 nm wavelength range. The sample with the least band gap was ZNH-0.2, with a value of 1.96 eV, and exhibited the highest Urbach energy (Eurb) at 1.150 eV. Moreover, the ZnO thin films displayed high efficiency in removing 80% of copper ions from an aqueous solution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of El Oued, PO Box 789, 39000, El Oued, Algeria

    Nassiba Allag & Boudiaf Chemsa

  2. Laboratory Physics of Thin Films and Application (LPCMA), University of Biskra, 07000, Biskra, Algeria

    Nassiba Allag, Abdelouahad Chala & Chahinaz Siad

  3. Department of Process and Petrochemical Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of El Oued, PO Box 789, 39000, El Oued, Algeria

    Abderrhmane Bouafia & Omar Ben Mya

  4. Laboratory of Biodiversity and Applications of Biotechnology in the Agriculture Field (BABDA), University of El Oued, PO Box 789, 39000, El Oued, Algeria

    Omar Ben Mya

  5. Laboratory of Biotechnology Biomaterials and Condensed Matter, Faculty of Technology, University of El Oued, 39000, El Oued, Algeria

    Abderrhmane Bouafia

  6. Department of Physics, College of Science, King Faisal University, 31982, Al-Hofuf, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

    Mir Waqas Alam

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  1. Nassiba Allag
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Contributions

NA, AB, BC, OBM, AC, MWA, and CS were involved in conceptualization; NA, AB, BC, OBM, AC, MWA, and CS contributed to methodology; NA, AB, BC, OBM, AC, MWA, and CS were involved in validation; NA, AB, BC, OBM, AC, and CS contributed to investigation; NA, AB, BC, OBM, AC, MWA, and CS were involved in resources; NA, AB, BC, OBM, AC, and CS contributed to data curation; NA, AB, BC, OBM, AC, and CS were involved in writing—original draft preparation; NA, AB, BC, OBM, AC, and CS contributed to writing—review and editing; AB, OBM, CS were involved in supervision; all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Abderrhmane Bouafia.

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Allag, N., Bouafia, A., Chemsa, B. et al. Effect of precursors on structural, optical and surface properties of ZnO thin film prepared by spray pyrolysis method: efficient removal of Cu (II) from wastewater. Transit Met Chem 49, 39–51 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11243-023-00560-9

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