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Visible-light-sensitive nanoscale Au–ZnO photocatalysts

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Abstract

The role of gold nanoparticles supported on ZnO in photocatalytic activity for dye degradation was investigated. To this end, gold nanoparticles supported on ZnO (Au–ZnO) were prepared using a simple co-precipitation method. The prepared nanocatalyst was characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed reduction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–Vis absorption, and photoluminescence. The photocatalytic activity of Au–ZnO was examined by the degradation of methylene blue in aqueous solution using a light source that has more than 95 % (i.e., energy) of emitted photons between 400 and 800 nm. Highly enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue in air at room temperature was observed from these Au–ZnO nanocatalysts with gold particle size ranging from 2 to 7 nm, with an average size of 3.8 nm. The observed rate constant for MB degradation on Au–ZnO was 0.0118/min compared with 0.0007/min for pure ZnO. Furthermore, the charge transfer pathway for the degradation of methylene blue in Au–ZnO is suggested.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the Oregon Nanoscience and Micro-technologies Institute (ONAMI) and Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies (Oregon BEST) Center. The authors would like to thank Paravee Vas-Umnuay for her help with the solar simulator set-up. The authors also thank Won-Ju Ahn at Sunchon National University for conducting the TPR experiments and Dr. Tomas Novet at Voxtel for the PL measurements. We are thankful to Dr. Stephen Golledge and Joshua Raznik at CAMCOR, The University of Oregon, for valuable assistance in obtaining, analyzing and interpreting XPS and HRTEM data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oregon Process Innovation Center, Microproduct Breakthrough Institute, School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Ki-Joong Kim, Peter B. Kreider & Chih-Hung Chang

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon, Jeonnam, 540-742, Republic of Korea

    Chul-Min Park & Ho-Geun Ahn

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  1. Ki-Joong Kim
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  2. Peter B. Kreider
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  3. Chih-Hung Chang
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  4. Chul-Min Park
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  5. Ho-Geun Ahn
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Correspondence to Chih-Hung Chang.

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Kim, KJ., Kreider, P.B., Chang, CH. et al. Visible-light-sensitive nanoscale Au–ZnO photocatalysts. J Nanopart Res 15, 1606 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-013-1606-5

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