A correlation story of syntheses of ZnO and their influence on photocatalysis

The role of reducibility vis-à-vis oxygen vacancies of doped Co3O4/CeO2 in the oxygen evolution reaction

Electrochemical water splitting, which is a highly promising and environmentally friendly technology for H2 fuel production, faces significant hurdles due to the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction. Co -based oxides have garnered significant attention as alternative catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction owing to the Co2+/Co3+ redox couple. Enhancing the challenging Co2+ → Co3+ oxidation process can further improve the catalytic oxygen evolution reaction. The aim of our work was to design a Co3O4-based catalyst to enhance reactivity by increasing the number of Co3+ active sites, serving as an excellent platform for facilitating the oxygen evolution reaction. To drive the effectiveness of the catalyst, in this study, we synthesized Co3O4 anchored on CeO2 (Co3O4/CeO2). The kinetics and efficacy of the oxygen evolution reaction catalysed by Co3O4/CeO2 was significantly improved by aliovalent doping of Sr into Ce sites and Cu into Co sites. The reducible nature of Ce stimulates the formation of Co3+ ions, resulting in an increased production of intermediate -OOH species, thus expediting the reaction. The transformation of Co2+ to Co3+ consequently leads to an increase in anion vacancies, which, in turn, promotes the adsorption of more intermediate species at the active site. The Sr- and Cu-doped Co3O4/CeO2 catalyst exhibited a high current density of 200 mA cm-2 at 580 mV and a low overpotential of 297 mV at 10 mA cm-2. The study functions as a key indicator to establish a connection between oxygen vacancies and metal oxidation states in order to investigate the mechanistic aspects of the oxygen evolution reaction on mixed metal oxides. Moreover, this study is expected to pave the way for the development of innovative oxygen evolution reaction catalysts with reducible supports, thus offering a new pathway for their design.

Magnetically retrievable Fe3O4@SiO2@ZnO piezo-photocatalyst: Synthesis and multiple catalytic properties

The piezo-/photocatalytic effects of ZnO have been in the limelight because of their great potential in environmental remediation and energy conversion. However, the poor recyclability of the suspended catalysts can cause inevitable secondary pollution, which is one of the major issues that limit the practical application of these materials. To address this problem, a magnetically retrievable Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@ZnO nanocomposite was designed and successfully synthesized by multi-step reactions. The ZnO nanorods were vertically grown on the surface of the magnetic Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ microspheres, while SiO₂ served as an insulator to protect the inner core and to inhibit charge transfer across the core/shell interface. The Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@ZnO nanocomposite can be easily collected and separated by using a magnetic field. Along with the good recyclability, the material also exhibited high efficiencies in piezocatalytic, photocatalytic and piezo-photocatalytic dye degradation processes. The rate constant of piezo-photocatalysis reached 95.9 × 10^-3 min^-1, which was 2.2 and 6.1 times that of the individual piezocatalysis and photocatalysis, respectively. The present result confirmed the existence of a synergetic effect between piezo- and photocatalytic processes. Hereby, we demonstrated that incorporation of a magnetic carrier is a feasible strategy to achieve retrievable and highly efficient piezo-/photocatalyst.

ZnO Nanostructures Doped with Various Chloride Ion Concentrations for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue in Alkaline and Acidic Media

In this study, chloride (Cl−) ions were successfully doped into ZnO nanostructures by the solvothermal method. The effect of various Cl− concentrations on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO towards the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under the illumination of ultraviolet light was studied. The as-prepared Cl−-doped ZnO nanostructures were analyzed in terms of morphology, structure, composition and optical properties. XRD data revealed an average crystallite size of 23 nm, and the XRD patterns were assigned to the wurtzite structure of ZnO even after doping with Cl−. Importantly, the optical band gap of various Cl ion-doped ZnO nanostructures was successively reduced from 3.42 to 3.16 eV. The photodegradation efficiency of various Cl− ion-doped ZnO nanostructures was studied for MB in aqueous solution, and the relative performance of each Cl ion-doped ZnO sample was as follows: 20% Cl−-doped ZnO > 15% Cl−-doped ZnO > 10% Cl−-doped ZnO > 5% Cl−-doped ZnO > pristine ZnO. Furthermore, the correlation of the pH of the MB solution and each Cl ion dopant concentration was also investigated. The combined results of varying dopant levels and the effect of the pH of the MB solution on the photodegradation process verified the crucial role of Cl− ions in activating the degradation kinetics of MB. Therefore, these newly developed photocatalysts could be considered as alternative materials for practical applications such as wastewater treatment.

Crystal-facet and microstructure engineering in ZnO for photocatalytic NO oxidation

Photocatalysis is believed to be an important way of reducing NO pollutant in air and the facet engineering of semiconducting oxides could enhance the efficiency of the photocatalysis. ZnO nanoparticles with different exposed crystalline facets were successfully synthesized using a hydrothermal method and their photocatalytic degradation towards NO was investigated. The crystals from ZnCl₂ precursor were hexagonal mesoporous ones with exposed (0002) facet, while those from zinc acetate were in the form of flakes or wheat ears with enhanced exposure of (101(-)1) facet. Calcination in air imparted an enhanced the textural coefficient of the orientated facets as well as the oxygen defects. The nanocrystals with enhanced (0002) facet and lower flat-band energy did better in photoelectrochemical water-oxidation than those with exposed (101(-)1) facet that showed superior photocatalytic activity (approaching 76.7 ± 0.6% under 365 nm photons) for NO oxidation. According to theoretical calculations, (101(-)1) facet with O termination showed much higher affinity to NO molecules than other configurations, and the oxygen vacancy in ZnO played an minor role in the photocatalytic oxidation of NO. A high quantum efficiency approaching 97.5 ± 1.4% under 275 nm photons was obtained for the ZnO crystals from zinc acetate with mixed (0002) and (101(-)1) facets. This research explores the special characteristics of ZnO with different exposed facets and is important for the future design of highly efficient photocatalyst for hazardous material removal.

Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles using water extract of waste coconut husk

The present work reports the use of natural alkaline extract from coconut husk ash as a precipitating agent for metal oxide nanoparticles synthesis. The abundance of K₂O and K₂CO₃ in it makes the extract highly basic and could be the alternative source of basic media in the laboratory. In this study, highly photoactive zinc oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized using water extract of waste coconut husk ash in a green approach which is considered as replacement of homogeneous base like NaOH and KOH. The formation of zinc oxide nanoparticles at different pH of the solution of coconut husk ash was confirmed through powder XRD, BET, SEM-EDX, UV-Vis, FTIR, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performance of the samples was evaluated through the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) under solar irradiation which undergo degradation around 97% and 68% within 120 min, respectively. The high photocatalytic activity and rate constant could be attributed to the large surface area due to small particle size that could provide quicker photon absorption and reduction of charge carrier recombination. This current work introduces a new method to reduce energy consumption for the synthesis of highly photoactive low-cost zinc oxide nanoparticles.

The role of synthesis vis-à-vis the oxygen vacancies of Co3O4 in the oxygen evolution reaction

The combustion synthesized Co3O4 due to high oxygen vacancies exhibited a significant oxygen evolution reaction as has been probed by electrocatalytic experiments and DFT calculations.

In2S3 nanoparticles coupled to In-MOF nanorods: The structural and electronic modulation for synergetic photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B

Enhancing photocatalytic performance via electronic modulation have attracted much attention for synergetic photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic pollutant. In this study, a new hetero-structured system is raised, which comprises In₂S₃ coupled to In-MOF and operates as an efficient photocatalyst for RhB degradation. The formation of hetero-structure and occurred electron modulation of In₂S₃/In-MOF hybrid was confirmed by relevant characterizations. Surprisingly, the In₂S₃/In-MOF hybrid represented enhanced photocatalytic ability over In-MOF. The photocatalysis of Rhodamine B in presence of In₂S₃/In-MOF hybrid has achieved 92.2 % degradation.

Core-shell ZIF-8@MIL-68(In) derived ZnO nanoparticles-embedded In2O3 hollow tubular with oxygen vacancy for photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic pollutant

Developing a novel core-multishelled metal oxide hollow tube with rich oxygen vacancy is highly attractive in photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic pollutant. Herein, ZnO@In₂O₃ core-shell hollow microtubes were synthesized via one-step calcination of ZIF-8@MIL-68(In) formed by an in-situ self-assembly. TEM images demonstrate that 0D ZnO quantum dots (QDs) shell with 0.2 µm were well coated on the surface of 1D In₂O₃ hollow tube as the core with 1.2 µm. The synthesized heterostructure indicates the enhanced photocatalytic performance in tetracycline (TC) degradation compared with single ZIF-derived ZnO and MIL-68(In)-derived In₂O₃ under simulated solar irradiation. Besides, organic pollutants including malachite green (MG), methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) are further used to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of ZnO@In₂O₃, and the effect of weight ratios between ZnO and In₂O₃ on degradation efficiency is also studies. The ZnO@In₂O₃ heterojunction can provide higher specific surface area, expose more active sites, possess appropriate number of oxygen vacancies, enhance light absorption and further effectively boost the transfer and separation of photoinduced charge carriers. In addition, the proposed photocatalytic mechanism and degradation pathway are discussed in detail based on active species trapping test, electron spin resonance (ESR) and LCMS.