Journal
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
Volume 8, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/app8030353
Keywords
semiconductors; surfaces; microstructure; defects
Categories
Funding
- Foundation of Science and Technology Bureau of Sichuan Province [2017JY0349]
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing University, China [M30016]
- Australian Research Council
- CSIRO's Science Leadership Program
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ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) are synthesized by deoxidizing ZnO powder in a vacuum drying process. This process reduces the size of the NPs and increases the concentration of oxygen vacancies on their surfaces. ZnO NPs with sufficient oxygen vacancies are highly effective for the photodecomposition of methylene blue (MB) dye in water under ultraviolet irradiation. The MB degradation efficiency exceeds 99 percent after 50 min of light irradiation, and the catalytic property of the NPs remains stable over several complete degradation cycles. It is revealed that the concentration of oxygen vacancies on the surface, and the photocatalytic activity, are both higher for smaller NPs. Oxygen vacancies reduce the recombination rate of photo-generated charge carriers by capturing the electrons and hence, improve the efficiency of redox reactions. In addition, a smaller particle size leads to a larger specific surface area and a higher photonic efficiency for the ZnO NPs.
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