Characterization and Photoactivity of Cotton Loaded with ZnO NPs

A A Owis,T A Abdel-Baset,M Y F Elzayat

doi:10.4236/ojapps.2020.104009

Abstract

In this work, ZnO NPs were prepared by a simple co-precipitation technique. Cotton fibers loaded with ZnO NPs were prepared also. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-Vis spectrophotometer have been used to characterize the prepared samples. The photocatalytic properties of the cotton loaded with ZnO (C-ZnO) and ZnO NPs, were studied under sunlight irradiation and lamp illumination as a function on time. The results showed that X-ray diffraction of ZnO NPs has a single-phase wurtzite structure with an average particle size of 29 nm. The morphology on the surface of ZnO NPs has a spherical shape. The optical band gap of ZnO nanoparticles was 3.37 eV. The photocatalytic confirms that C-ZnO exhibited higher photocatalytic activities than ZnO NPs.

Highlights

ZnO oxide is an important n-type semiconductor material which receives a great interest for various applications due to its unique properties, such as a direct wide band gap (3.37 eV), large exciton binding energy (60 meV) at room temperature [1]
The photocatalytic properties of the cotton loaded with ZnO (C-ZnO) and ZnO NPs, were studied under sunlight irradiation and lamp illumination as a function on time
The results showed that X-ray diffraction of ZnO NPs has a single-phase wurtzite structure with an average particle size of 29 nm

Summary

Introduction

ZnO oxide is an important n-type semiconductor material which receives a great interest for various applications due to its unique properties, such as a direct wide band gap (3.37 eV), large exciton binding energy (60 meV) at room temperature [1]. ZnO is one of the most photocatalyst due to low cost, nontoxic, high catalytic activity, thermal stability and environmental friendly [2] [3] [4]. ZnO has received much attention as a very promising photocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of water pollutants, because it produces H2O2 more efficiently, it absorbs high efficiency with solar light and has higher rates of activities [5]. Cotton fibers have characterized by good moisture absorptivity, self-cleaning, high catalytic efficiency, low cost, easy recycling, and environmental sustainability [13]. The photocatalytic activities of ZnO NPs and cotton loaded with ZnO for the degradation of MB under visible light and UV lamp were studied

Synthesis

Photocatalytic

Characterization Techniques

Characterization

Photocatalytic Activity

Conclusion