Fluorine doped zinc oxide nanowires: Enhanced photocatalysts degrade malachite green dye under visible light conditions

Enhanced visible-light absorption of 4 at% fluorine (F) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (F:ZnO) produced via a hydrothermal method with 15 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is explored with various characterization techniques: XRD, TEM, UV-vis spectra, Pl spectra, XPS, and surface area analysis. Moreover, photocatalytic performance of as-prepared samples is studied via degradation of malachite green dye under visible light irradiation. Finally, the photocatalyst's optimal amount to use is determined as well as its recyclability. Results show that band gaps of ZnO nanostructures depend on NaOH concentration, doping 15 M NaOH resultant ZnO nanowires with 4 at% F further narrows the band gap, F:ZnO nanowires perform 1.6 times better than the pure ZnO nanowires in malachite green dye (MG) degradation tests, overloading the solution with the photocatalyst actually hinders degradation performance, and the F:ZnO photocatalyst remains a robust performer even after five cycles. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.