Abstract
Chromium (Cr)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods with wurtzite hexagonal structure were prepared through a thermal decomposition technique. The concentration effect of the Cr doping on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of the ZnO nanorods was established by correlating various measurements: transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and several UV-visible studies. The obtained nanorods were investigated as photocatalysts for the photodegradation process of methyl orange (MO), under UV-vis light illumination. Different weights and time intervals were studied. A 99.8% photodegradation of MO was obtained after 100 min in the presence of 1 wt.% Cr III acetate hydroxide and zinc acetate dehydrate “ZnO-Cr1”. The kinetic rate constant of the reaction was found to be equal to 4.451 × 10−2 min−1 via a pseudo-first order rate model. Scavenger radicals demonstrated the domination of OH• radicals by those of O2•− superoxide species during the photodegradation. The interstitial oxygen site Oi is proposed to play a key role in the generation of holes in the valence band under visible irradiation. The ZnO-Cr1 photocatalyst displayed good cycling stability and reusability.
Highlights
Application of organic pollutants like dye molecules, cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr) is common in industry [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
No changes in the structure phase were noticed after adding Cr ions
The full by Cr doping reflects the substitution of Zn ions with those of Cr
Summary
Application of organic pollutants like dye molecules, cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr) is common in industry [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] Their effluent contains various colored combinations that are difficult to manage [11]. Different studies have been performed to obtain clean and cost-effective methods of solving dye wastewater problems Earlier techniques addressing this problem succeeded in realizing a partial degradation of water pollutants [13]. The photolytic process refers to the rapidity of the photoreaction in the presence of semiconductors as catalysts [15] This technique is low-cost, non-toxic, and safe environmentally, which makes it promising for the dyes industry [10]. These unique properties of the photocatalytic method have attracted a lot of interest where the desire for a better environment exists
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