Structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of cuboid ZnO particles

Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) powders were prepared by solution combustion method using trimethyloctylammonium bromide (OTAB) and a mixture of OTAB and citric acid as fuel. Single phase ZnO powders with wurtzite structure were directly formed at high fuel contents (φ ≥ 1). The porous microstructure of combusted ZnO powders by mixed fuels had the specific surface area in the range of 73–416 m2/g in which increased with the increase of amount of fuels. The ZnO powders synthesized by single OTAB fuel were composed of the compacted agglomeration particles with cuboid-like morphology. The optical and photocatalytic properties of ZnO powders were determined as a function of fuel type and contents by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy techniques. The ZnO powders obtained by OTAB-citric acid mixed fuel at φ = 1.5 showed the highest adsorption (53%) and photodegradation (95%) efficiency of MB dyes during 90 min under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation.

Keywords

• Zinc oxide
• Solution combustion synthesis
• OTAB
• Mixed fuel
• Photocatalytic activity