Efficient and Rapid Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange Dye Using Al/ZnO Nanoparticles

Abstract

ZnO and Aluminum doped ZnO nanoparticles (Al/ZnO NPs) were successfully synthesized by the sol-gel method. Together with the effect of calcination temperatures (200, 300 and 400 °C) and Al dosage (1%, 3%, 5% and 10%) on structural, morphological and optical properties of Al/ZnO NPs, their photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye was investigated. The calcination temperatures at 200, 300 and 400 °C in forming structure of ZnO NPs led to spherical nanoparticle, nanorod and nanoflake structures with a well-crystalline hexagonal wurtzite, respectively. The ZnO NPs calcined at 200 °C exhibited the highest specific surface area and light absorption property, leading to the MO removal efficiency of 80% after 4 h under the Ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. The MO removal efficiency was approximately two times higher than the nanoparticles calcined at 400 °C. Furthermore, the 5% Al/ZnO NPs exhibited superior MO removal efficiency of 99% in only 40 min which was approximately 20 times enhancement in photocatalytic activity compared to pristine ZnO under the visible light irradiation. This high degradation performance was attributed to the extended light absorption, narrowed band gap and effective suppression of electron–hole recombination through an addition of Al metal.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Phenol Red in Water on Nb(x)/TiO2 Nanocomposites

“…Semiconductor photocatalysts, such as anatase TiO 2 , have played an important role in providing the solution due to their important optical and electronic properties that make them an excellent candidates in different applications such as solar fuel production, CO 2 reduction, pollution degradation, and hydrogen production [1][2][3][4][5]. Despite the large number of studies on TiO 2, there remains a big challenge related to its wide band gap that forbids the absorbance of light in the visible range and consequently reduces its photocatalytic efficiency.…”

A Study on Doping and Compound of Zinc Oxide Photocatalysts

“…Piangjai Peerakiatkhajohn et al [ 40 ] used the sol-gel method to prepare low calcination temperature zinc oxide nanosheets and visible light-responsive Al-doped zinc oxide nanosheets. The results showed that calcination temperature and al doping had significant effects on the morphology, absorption properties and photocatalytic activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles.…”

Comparison Study of Metal Oxides (CeO2, CuO, SnO2, CdO, ZnO and TiO2) Decked Few Layered Graphene Nanocomposites for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

“…To avoid moisture, it was filtered and cleaned multiple times with distilled water before being dried in a hot air oven at 90 • C for 5 h. Consequently, the FLG/MOs nanocomposites were calcined in a muffle furnace. Those temperatures were FLG/CeO 2 at 600 • C for 4 h [17], FLG/CuO at 600 • C for 4 h [18], FLG/SnO 2 at 600 • C for 4 h [19], FLG/CdO at 400 • C for 4 h [20], FLG/ZnO at 400 • C for 12 h [21], and FLG/TiO 2 at 400 • C for 2 h [22]. For comparison, pure metal oxide (MOs; CeO 2 , CuO, SnO 2 , CdO, ZnO, and TiO 2 ) NPs were also produced by the same technique without GO and followed by different calcination temperatures.…”