Comparison Between Photoactivity of ZnO/NiO Nanostructures Synthesized by CBD and Modified -CBD for Rhodamine B Removal

Abstract

This work describes a comparative study on zinc oxide/nickel oxide (ZnO/NiO) nanostructures deposited on glass substrates by chemical bath and modified bath, (CBD), and (M-CBD) techniques. The photoactivity of ZnO/NiO nanostructure films was tested on Rhodamine B (RB) dye under sunlight. The nanostructure films were evaluated using various characterization tools. Accordingly, the field-emission scanning electron microscopic (FE-SEM) images confirm that the film synthesized by CBD was flower-like nanosheets with a thickness of 37.96 - 51.36 nm. In contrast, the M-CBD film showed spherical nanoparticles with a diameter of 35.73 - 49.12 nm and nanosheets of a thickness of 42.43 nm. However, both films were then subject to sunlight for 150 min. The photocatalytic efficiencies of the CBD and M-CBD films were calculated to be 76 % and 92 %, respectively. It is thus concluded that enhancing the photocatalytic degradation for the removal of RB is demonstrated by modifying the classical CBD technique.