Hydrothermal synthesis of coral-like Au/ZnO catalyst and photocatalytic degradation of Orange II dye

• Published in: Materials research bulletin Vol. 48; no. 6; pp. 2375 - 2382
• Main Authors: Chen, P.K., Lee, G.J., Davies, S.H., Masten, S.J., Amutha, R., Wu, J.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2013
• Subjects: A. Layered compound; A. Oxides; A. Semiconductors; B. Chemical synthesis; C. X-ray diffraction; CARBONATES; CATALYSTS; CORALS; DEPOSITS; GLUCOSE; HYDROTHERMAL SYNTHESIS; MATERIALS SCIENCE; NANOPARTICLES; NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY; NANOSTRUCTURES; PHOTOCATALYSIS; SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; THERMAL GRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS; X RADIATION; X-RAY DIFFRACTION; X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY; ZINC OXIDES; B. Chemical synthesis; A. Layered compound; A. Oxides; C. X-ray diffraction; A. Semiconductors
• ISSN: 0025-5408; 1873-4227
• DOI: 10.1016/j.materresbull.2013.02.062

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► Coral-like Au/ZnO was successfully prepared using green synthetic method. ► Gold nanoparticles were deposited on the ZnO structure using NaBH4 and β-d-glucose. ► Coral-like Au/ZnO exhibited superior photocatalytic activity to degrade Orange II.
A porous coral-like zinc oxide (c-ZnO) photocatalyst was synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The coral-like structure was obtained by precipitating Zn4(CO3)(OH)6·H2O (ZnCH), which forms nanosheets that aggregate together to form microspheres with the coral-like structure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies indicate that after heating at 550°C the ZnCH microspheres can be converted to ZnO microspheres with a morphology similar to that of ZnCH microspheres. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) shows this conversion takes place at approximately 260°C. A simple electrostatic self-assembly method has been employed to uniformly disperse Au nanoparticles (1wt.%) on the ZnO surface. In this procedure β-d-glucose was used to stabilize the Au nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscope images indicate that the diameter of coral-like ZnO microspheres (c-ZnO) is about 8μm. X-ray diffraction reveals that the ZnO is highly crystalline with a wurtzite structure and the Au metallic particles have an average size of about 13nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) studies have confirmed the presence of ZnO and also showed that the Au is present in the metallic state. The photocatalytic degradation of Orange II dye, with either ultraviolet or visible light, is faster on Au/c-ZnO than on c-ZnO.