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Hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO/C microflowers for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants under visible light irradiation: kinetics, mechanism and recyclability

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Abstract

We developed an improved hexagonal wurtzite ZnO and ZnO/C microflowers through the facile hydrothermal technique. The obtained nanostructures were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–Vis DRS). The formation of flower-like material is confirmed using SEM and TEM analysis with an average diameter of about 2 µm composed of several plate-like nanostructures. The optical analysis results show that the presence of carbon particles with ZnO structures has significantly increased the light absorption ability of nanocomposite. The photocatalytic degradation ability of prepared nanostructures was examined using methylene blue as a model pollutant. The obtained results show that the photocatalytic degradation ability of ZnO/C nanostructures is approximately two times higher than the pristine ZnO microflowers. Based on the investigation, an enhancement of the photocatalytic ability of ZnO/C nanocomposite is achieved due to the synergistic effect between carbon particles and flower-like ZnO nanostructures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Development Centre, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, 641 046, Tamil Nadu, India

    M. C. Shibu & T. P. Vijayakumar

  2. Postgraduate & Research Department of Physics, Mar Athanasius College (Autonomous), Kothamangalam, 686 666, Kerala, India

    M. D. Benoy

  3. Nano and Hybrid Materials Laboratory, Department of Physics, Periyar University, Salem, 636 011, India

    S. Shanavas

  4. Department of Chemistry, Khalifa University, P.O. Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    S. Shanavas & Mohammad Abu Haija

  5. Department of Energy Science and Technology, Periyar University, Salem, 636 011, Tamil Nadu, India

    J. Duraimurugan & P. Maadeswaran

  6. Department of Physics, K.S. Rangasamy College of Arts and Science (Autonomous), Tiruchengode, 637 215, Tamil Nadu, India

    G. Suresh Kumar

  7. Facultad de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad San Sebastián, Bellavista 7, 8420524, Santiago, Chile

    R. Acevedo

  8. Department of Physics, Muthayammal Memorial College of Arts and Science, Rasipuram, 637408, Tamil Nadu, India

    S. Haseena

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  1. M. C. Shibu
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  3. S. Shanavas
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  4. Mohammad Abu Haija
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Shibu, M.C., Benoy, M.D., Shanavas, S. et al. Hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO/C microflowers for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants under visible light irradiation: kinetics, mechanism and recyclability. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 9412–9424 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-07375-3

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