Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8034976 | Thin Solid Films | 2014 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
Well-aligned native zinc oxide (ZnO) and silver-doped ZnO (Ag-ZnO) films were deposited on borosilicate glass via a simple, low-cost, low-temperature, scalable hydrothermal process. The as-synthesized ZnO and Ag-ZnO films were characterized by X-ray diffraction; scanning electron microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A simple photolytic reactor was fabricated and later used to find the optimum experimental conditions for photocatalytic performance. The photodegradation of methyl orange in water was investigated using as-prepared ZnO and Ag-ZnO nanowires, and was compared to P25 (a commercial photocatalyst) in both visible and UV radiations. The P25 and Ag-ZnO showed a similar photodegradation performance under UV light, but Ag-ZnO demonstrated superior photocatalytic activity under visible irradiation. The optimized doping of Ag in Ag-ZnO enhanced photocatalytic activity in a simple reactor design and indicated potential applicability of Ag-ZnO for large-scale purification of water under solar irradiation.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
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Authors
Innocent Udom, Yangyang Zhang, Manoj K. Ram, Elias K. Stefanakos, Aloysius F. Hepp, Radwan Elzein, Rudy Schlaf, D. Yogi Goswami,