Facile approach to defect-rich ZnO photocatalysts for visible light dye degradation

We established an effective synthesis approach to prepare planar-defect-rich-zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles via a facile coprecipitation technique. The effect of acetate, sulfate, and nitrate salt precursors along with synthesis temperature on the physiochemical behavior of ZnO nanoparticles was explored. Various analytical techniques were utilized to illustrate the present phases, intrinsic structure, extrinsic morphology, and optical properties of the final products. Pure hexagonal wurtzite phase for the ZnO nanoparticles with spherical morphology ranging from 30 nm to 70 nm in size displayed superior photocatalytic activity owing to the presence of a high density of dislocation and stacking faults. A visible-light photocatalytic degradation study of methylene blue and rhodamine B dye was carried out. Prepared ZnO nanoparticles were able to degrade over 93% of 22 MB dye and 98.85% RhB dye in an hour. This excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity is credited to the porous nature of the nanoparticles offering increased surface area and the presence of planar defects which effectively repress electron-hole recombination by taking care of charge carrier trapping and transferring.

Methods
The data was collected from material characterization techniques, namely:

XRD
SEM
TEM
AT-FTIR
Photoluminescence
UV-Vis for Photocatalytic Activity