Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5438113 | Ceramics International | 2017 | 28 Pages |
Abstract
This manuscript reports a successful additive free and fast energy-efficient microwave-assisted synthesis of nanocrystalline Ce-doped ZnO/CNT composite without calcinations. The structure and morphology of nanocrystalline Ce-doped ZnO/CNT was investigated by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-visible and Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The XRD results indicate that all of the samples are free of any impurity phase and crystallize only in the hexagonal structure. The synthesized Ce-doped ZnO/CNT composite achieved 96.4% photo-catalytic efficiency for methylene blue (MB) dye degradation under UV irradiation whereas the efficiency was only 34.6% for pure ZnO nanoparticles. Ce doping and insertion of CNTs into ZnO matrix enhanced the photo-catalytic activity of the composite by reducing the charge recombination. The experimental photodegradation data were well fitted to first-order, parabolic diffusion and modified Freundlich models. The results suggest that Ce-doped ZnO/CNT composite prepared by microwave irradiation method has a potential application in photo-catalysis which leads to the removal of harmful organic pollutant from the environment.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Materials Science
Ceramics and Composites
Authors
Md. Elias, Md. Khairul Amin, Shakhawat H. Firoz, Md. Asjad Hossain, Sonia Akter, Md. Awlad Hossain, Md. Nizam Uddin, Iqbal Ahmed Siddiquey,