Ali Ansari Sajid, Parveen Nazish, Aljaafari Abdullah, Alshoaibi Adil, Alsulaim Ghayah M, Waqas Alam Mir, Zahid Ansari Mohd
Department of Physics, College of Science, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Hofuf, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 380, Hofuf, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia.
J Adv Res. 2024 Aug 10. doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2024.08.014.
The efficiency of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles for environmental decontamination is limited by their reliance on ultraviolet (UV) light and rapid charge carrier recombination. Carbon doping has been proposed to address these challenges by potentially enhancing visible light absorption and charge separation.
This study aims to introduce a novel, single-step synthesis method for carbon-doped ZnO (C-Z) nanoparticles, leveraging the decomposition of zinc nitrate hexahydrate and furfural under a nitrogen atmosphere to improve photocatalytic activity under visible light.
A series of C-Z variants (C-Z-1 to C-Z-5) and an undoped sample (ZnO-0) were synthesized. The influence of furfural on the synthesis process and doping mechanism was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS).
XPS confirmed the integration of carbon within the ZnO matrix, and XRD indicated increased lattice dimensions owing to doping. DRS revealed bandgap narrowing, suggesting enhanced charge separation. Among the variants, C-Z-3 significantly outperformed the others, showing a 12-fold increase in the photocatalytic degradation rate of Rhodamine B compared to undoped ZnO.
The developed single-step synthesis method for C-Z nanoparticles represents a major advancement in materials engineering for ecological applications. The enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light, as demonstrated by C-Z-3, underscores the potential of these nanoparticles for environmental decontamination.
氧化锌（ZnO）纳米颗粒用于环境净化的效率受到其对紫外线（UV）光的依赖以及快速的电荷载流子复合的限制。有人提出通过潜在地增强可见光吸收和电荷分离来解决这些挑战，即进行碳掺杂。
本研究旨在引入一种新颖的单步合成方法来制备碳掺杂的ZnO（C-Z）纳米颗粒，利用六水合硝酸锌和糠醛在氮气气氛下的分解来提高可见光下的光催化活性。
合成了一系列C-Z变体（C-Z-1至C-Z-5）和一个未掺杂的样品（ZnO-0）。通过X射线光电子能谱（XPS）、X射线衍射（XRD）和紫外可见漫反射光谱（DRS）分析了糠醛对合成过程和掺杂机制的影响。
XPS证实了碳在ZnO基体中的整合，XRD表明由于掺杂晶格尺寸增大。DRS显示带隙变窄，表明电荷分离增强。在这些变体中，C-Z-3的表现明显优于其他变体，与未掺杂的ZnO相比，若丹明B的光催化降解率提高了12倍。
所开发的C-Z纳米颗粒单步合成方法代表了生态应用材料工程的一项重大进展。如C-Z-3所示，可见光下增强的光催化活性突出了这些纳米颗粒在环境净化方面的潜力。
