Temperature-dependent growth of ZnO structures by thermal oxidation of Zn coatings electrodeposited on steel substrates and their photocatalytic activities

In this work, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures were successfully synthesized by thermal oxidation of zinc (Zn) coated steel substrates. Zn coatings were electrodeposited on the mild carbon steel sheet in the sulfate bath by DC current. The zinc coated samples were oxidized in air at distinct annealing temperatures between 400 °C and 800 °C. The phase structure and surface morphology of the ZnO films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The photocatalytic activity of these ZnO layers was examined by means of decomposition of methylene blue (MB) aqueous solutions under UV lamp irradiation for various duration. The findings illustrated that annealing temperatures had a big effect on the morphology and structure of the ZnO layers. The annealed layers showed significantly enhanced photoactivity activity than the pure Zn layer under UV-irradiation. The sample with ZnO nanostructures oxidized at 800 °C exhibited a better photocatalytic degradation of MB than the other samples. This paper can provide an important contribution to the development of efficient photocatalysts for the solution of the environmental pollution problems.