Structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of cuboid ZnO particles

Zinc oxide (ZnO) powders were prepared by solution combustion method using trimethyloctylammonium bromide (OTAB) and a mixture of OTAB and citric acid as fuel. Single phase ZnO powders with wurtzite structure were directly formed at high fuel contents (4 > 1). The porous microstructure of combusted ZnO powders by mixed fuels had the specific surface area in the range of 73-416 m(2)/g in which increased with the increase of amount of fuels. The ZnO powders synthesized by single OTAB fuel were composed of the compacted agglomeration particles with cuboid-like morphology. The optical and photo catalytic properties of ZnO powders were determined as a function of fuel type and contents by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy techniques. The ZnO powders obtained by OTAB-citric acid mixed fuel at 4 1/4 1.5 showed the highest adsorption (53%) and photodegradation (95%) efficiency of MB dyes during 90 min under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Zinc oxide powders were synthesized using solution combustion method with mixed fuels, showing that single phase ZnO powders with high fuel contents can be formed directly. These powders exhibited excellent adsorption and photocatalytic efficiency, especially when prepared with mixed fuel at high ratios.