On the electrical conductivity and photocatalytic activity of aluminum-doped zinc oxide

•Al-doped ZnO hexagonal wurtzite is obtained by an economic and facile method.•Electrical conductivity of Al-doped ZnO is related to the calcination atmosphere.•Al-doped ZnO acts as a catalyst in the presence of light.•Al-doped ZnO with excellent conductivity shows better photocatalytic activity.•·O2− and OH are the main active species for the MO degradation.

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) conductive powders have been successfully prepared by a simple chemical coprecipitation method. The obtained powders with different post-calcining atmospheres were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The resistivity-dependent photocatalytic activity was studied by degradation of methyl orange (MO) in aqueous solution. The result showed that photodegradation of methyl orange dyes obeyed the rule of a pseudo first-order kinetics reaction and the AZO photocatalytic activity was related to the resistivity under different post-calcining atmospheres.

Graphical abstractThe AZO powders prepared at different post-calcining atmospheres: A) in air; B) in argon; C) in reducing atmosphere (CO). The prepared Al-doped ZnO with different post-calcining atmospheres shows the different morphologies, conductivity and photocatalytic activity.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide