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Synthesis and characterization of flower-like ZnO structures and their applications in photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B dye

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Abstract

We have synthesized ZnO nanoflakes (ZnO-NFs) assembled flower-like structures through simple wet chemical route without using any growth directing agent. The ZnO NFs have been characterized in terms of morphological, structural, and optical properties by field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. FE-SEM images show the nanoflakes assembled flower-like morphology of the as-prepared sample. XRD and Raman studies confirm that it has stable wurtzite structure. The formation of ZnO-NFs is also confirmed by the bond corresponding to metal-oxygen vibration in the FTIR spectrum at ~460 cm−1. The UV–Vis absorption spectrum of synthesized sample gives the optical band gap value of 3.2 eV. The photocatalytic activity of the ZnO-NFs is evaluated by observing their role in the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye. Results show that ZnO-NFs are capable of working efficiently for the degradation of RhB dye.

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Acknowledgments

Authors thank NIT Hamirpur for providing financial assistance to carry out the present work. Authors also thank CMSE NIT-Hamirpur for providing experimental facilities.

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  1. Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology-Hamirpur, Hamirpur, H.P., 177 005, India

    N. Rana, Subhash Chand & Arvind K. Gathania

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  1. N. Rana
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  2. Subhash Chand
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Correspondence to Arvind K. Gathania.

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Rana, N., Chand, S. & Gathania, A.K. Synthesis and characterization of flower-like ZnO structures and their applications in photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B dye. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 27, 2504–2510 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-4051-7

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