Cu:ZnO deposited on porous ceramic substrates by a simple thermal method for photocatalytic application

• Main Authors: Bouras, D, Mecif, A, Barillé, R, Harabi, A, Rasheed, M, Mahdjoub, A, Zaabat, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 21-08-2018
• Subjects: Physics - Chemical Physics
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1808.06786

Thin films of undoped zinc oxide (ZnO) and doped ZnO with copper were
deposited on ceramic pellets made from abundant local clay materials with an
addition of zirconia (ZrO2). The thin layers were prepared by a thermal method
using an autoclave. The resulting structural and morphological properties of
the products were studied in order to determine the effectiveness of their
photocatalytic activities. X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy,
energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and UV-visible spectrophotometry were used
in this goal. An application test was carried out to quantify the
photocatalytic degradation of a toxic organic dye by these samples under UV
light. In similar conditions, the layers deposited on the ceramics with
addition of zirconia have shown better performances than those without
zirconia. This result can be related to the porosity created when the zirconium
oxide reacted with SiO2 of the clay. The open porosity observed on this type of
substrate allows a larger surface for the photocatalysis. The degradation rate
of the dye reached 90.5 % during a period of 7 hours with Cu doped ZnO thin
layers deposited on porous substrates modified with addition of ZrO2.