The effect of spinning cycle on structural, optical, surface and photocatalytic properties of sol-gel derived ZnO films

ZnO films are remarkable materials as photocatalysts in eliminating problems such as water, air and environmental pollution caused by industrial wastes. However, their photocatalytic activities must be increased to compete with TiO2, which is a favorite in such applications. In this study, photocatalytic performances of ZnO films were evaluated considering the crystallization level, traps that delay electron-hole recombination and adsorption of organic dye contaminants. The effect of spinning cycle (3, 4 and 5), which has been relatively less studied compared to other sol-gel parameters, on the photocatalytic performance of pure-ZnO films produced by sol-gel spin coating is reported. XRD patterns, photoluminescence spectrophotometry, AFM, FESEM and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to investigate their structural, optical and surface properties. Methylene blue was selected as organic pollutant to perform the photocatalytic measurements of ZnO films. This study revealed that the photocatalytic activities of ZnO films can be increased due to the improved optical, surface and structural properties with increasing spinning cycle. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

This study evaluated the photocatalytic performance of ZnO films and found that increasing the spinning cycle can improve their optical, surface, and structural properties, thus enhancing photocatalytic activity.