Effect of organic ligand on ZnO nanostructures and to investigate the photocatalytic activity under visible light illumination

Abstract

Controlled morphology of zinc oxide (ZnO) was synthesized by simple hydrothermal method. Morphology and size of ZnO nanostructures was controlled by using pyridine as a passivating agent. Pyridine played a crucial role in modifying the morphological size of ZnO nanostructures. The structural analysis confirms the formation of hexagonal phase of ZnO with good crystalline nature. The elemental and composition analysis confirm the presence of ZnO and the existence of pyridine in the composition. The morphological analysis was performed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM). The degradation property of organic pollutant was studied under visible light irradiation. Maximum degradation efficiency was observed for 0.6 mL of pyridine sample which disappeared completely after 18 min of irradiation. Furthermore, the degradation property of ZnO was studied by different value of pH, concentration of dye and photocatalyst dosage. The optimum values of solution pH, dye concentration, and photocatalyst dosage was 11, 10 ppm, and 75 mg/L, respectively.