One‐step hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO microtubes with an efficient photocatalytic activity

Abstract

Micro & Nano LettersVolume 16, Issue 2 p. 142-148 ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPEROpen Access One-step hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO microtubes with an efficient photocatalytic activity Zain Ul Abideen, Corresponding Author Zain Ul Abideen [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-6956-095X Energy & Environment Technology Center (EETC), Collaborative Innovation Centre of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing, 210044 People's Republic of China Correspondence Zain Ul Abideen and Fei Teng Jiangsu Engineering and Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials (ECM), Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (AEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing 210044, People's Republic of China. Email: [email protected] (Z. U. Abideen), [email protected] (F. Teng)Search for more papers by this authorAbid Hussain Shah, Abid Hussain Shah Energy & Environment Technology Center (EETC), Collaborative Innovation Centre of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing, 210044 People's Republic of ChinaSearch for more papers by this authorFei Teng, Corresponding Author Fei Teng [email protected] Energy & Environment Technology Center (EETC), Collaborative Innovation Centre of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing, 210044 People's Republic of China Correspondence Zain Ul Abideen and Fei Teng Jiangsu Engineering and Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials (ECM), Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (AEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing 210044, People's Republic of China. Email: [email protected] (Z. U. Abideen), [email protected] (F. Teng)Search for more papers by this authorMuhammad Ilyas Abro, Muhammad Ilyas Abro orcid.org/0000-0002-2580-3622 Energy & Environment Technology Center (EETC), Collaborative Innovation Centre of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing, 210044 People's Republic of ChinaSearch for more papers by this authorKifayat Ullah, Kifayat Ullah Department of Physics, Hazara University, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 21300 PakistanSearch for more papers by this author Zain Ul Abideen, Corresponding Author Zain Ul Abideen [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-6956-095X Energy & Environment Technology Center (EETC), Collaborative Innovation Centre of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing, 210044 People's Republic of China Correspondence Zain Ul Abideen and Fei Teng Jiangsu Engineering and Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials (ECM), Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (AEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing 210044, People's Republic of China. Email: [email protected] (Z. U. Abideen), [email protected] (F. Teng)Search for more papers by this authorAbid Hussain Shah, Abid Hussain Shah Energy & Environment Technology Center (EETC), Collaborative Innovation Centre of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing, 210044 People's Republic of ChinaSearch for more papers by this authorFei Teng, Corresponding Author Fei Teng [email protected] Energy & Environment Technology Center (EETC), Collaborative Innovation Centre of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing, 210044 People's Republic of China Correspondence Zain Ul Abideen and Fei Teng Jiangsu Engineering and Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials (ECM), Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (AEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing 210044, People's Republic of China. Email: [email protected] (Z. U. Abideen), [email protected] (F. Teng)Search for more papers by this authorMuhammad Ilyas Abro, Muhammad Ilyas Abro orcid.org/0000-0002-2580-3622 Energy & Environment Technology Center (EETC), Collaborative Innovation Centre of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 216 Ningliu Road, Nanjing, 210044 People's Republic of ChinaSearch for more papers by this authorKifayat Ullah, Kifayat Ullah Department of Physics, Hazara University, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 21300 PakistanSearch for more papers by this author First published: 29 December 2020 https://doi.org/10.1049/mna2.12024Citations: 4AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract In this work, the novel rod-like ZnO microtubes were successfully synthesized via one-step simple, non-toxic, fast and economical hydrothermal route. The as-obtained microtubes were characterized in detail with X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, steady-state photoluminescence spectrum and surface photovoltage spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the as-obtained microtubes was evaluated by degradation of methylene blue. The results indicated that the ZnO microtubes, exhibited higher photodegradation efficiency of 95% under UV light irradiation (λ ≤ 420 nm) for 20 min. The photodegradation could be described as the pseudo-first-order kinetics with apparent rate constant of 0.126 min-1, which was based on the unique morphology of ZnO. Moreover, ZnO microtubes maintained a good photostability after three consecutive cycles. Unique microtubes can be applied practically for dye waste-water treatment. 1 INTRODUCTION Organic pollutant discharged by the textile industries are becoming severe threat to the biological environment. To deal with these organic pollutants, solar energy driven photocatalysis has been studied intensively [1-5]. However, the practical applications of photocatalysis are limited by the low light utilization efficiency, quantum efficiency and photocatalytic activity. Zinc oxide (ZnO) with a large binding energy (Eg = 60 meV) and a wide band gap (3.37 eV) at room temperature, has widespread applications in several industries such as laser active medium, luminescence material for fluorescent tube, antimicrobial and sensors [6-8]. ZnO is also used in catalytic reaction process due to its large surface area and high activity [9-15]. However, the photocatalytic activity and stability of ZnO decreases dramatically because of photocorrosion [16]. Therefore, synthesis of photostable ZnO for practical application is of great interest to the researchers. It is believed that the structural and morphological characters, i.e. crystalline form, shape and size of a photocatalyst is associated with its activity [17]. Surface modification may change the functionality, reactivity of the surface, charge and increase stability [18]. Therefore, synthesis of ZnO with a different morphology and large surface area may also improve photoactivity and stability. To date many methods including sol–gel, sonochemical, solvothermal, hydrothermal and mechanochemical have been developed to synth