Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of iodine-doped ZnO nanoflowers

Abstract

The paper reports on the preparation and photocatalytic activity of thin films of iodine-doped ZnO nanoflowers deposited on glass substrate using a simple growth process based on hydrothermal synthesis. Addition of iodic acid (5-20 vol%) in the reaction mixture allows the introduction of iodine ions in the form of I⁻ or IO₃⁻ in the ZnO lattice, as suggested by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Doping ZnO nanostructured films with iodine did not impact their morphology, while it has a significant influence on their optical properties. Indeed, the nanostructured ZnO films, prepared in the presence of iodic acid, display a large increase of the visible luminescence, which reaches a maximum at a concentration of 10 vol%. Finally, the photocatalytic activity of the ZnO nanostructured films for the photodegradation of a model pollutant, rhodamine B, was evaluated under UV and visible light irradiation. While under UV light irradiation, both undoped and iodine-doped ZnO films show a similar behavior, the photocatalytic performance of iodine-doped under visible light irradiation is significantly enhanced in comparison to that of undoped ZnO

Property database for single-element doping in ZnO obtained by automated first-principles calculations

“…5, which is at variance with experiment44. This is due to the low dopability of I, which result in precipitates at high doping concentrations44. This is in fact in line with the current calculations because E for of I is bigger than for F by ~2 eV (see Supplementary Fig.…”

“…On the other hand, I is expected to be an electron donor from Fig. 5, which is at variance with experiment44. This is due to the low dopability of I, which result in precipitates at high doping concentrations44.…”

Zn Doping-Induced Shape Evolution of Microcrystals: The Case of Cuprous Oxide

“…To disclose the effects of the acetate and zinc ions in the reaction, we replaced Zn(NO 3 ) 2 with zinc acetate (Zn(OAc) 2 ) and ensured that the other conditions were the same, or increased the amount of Cu(OAc) 2 and kept the Zn(NO 3 ) 2 content constant.…”

Visible-Light-Responsive TiO2-Coated ZnO:I Nanorod Array Films with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical and Photocatalytic Performance

“…17,18 Recently, Boukherroub et al synthesized iodine-doped ZnO (ZnO:I) nanoflower photocatalytic films for dye degradation, and they found that such hybrid films possessed significantly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance in comparison to that of undoped ZnO. 19 Accordingly, a deep exploitation of a versatile ZnO:I based photocatalyst via control of structural and compositional characteristics has great significance for more effective pollutant degradation and practical application, which has yet to be reported.…”