0000000000282990
AUTHOR
Noomen Moussa
Sol-gel synthesis and photocatalytic activity of ZnO-SnO2 nanocomposites
Abstract ZnO–SnO 2 nanocomposites were synthesized by a facile sol–gel synthesis route and characterized through X-ray diffraction, BET specific surface area analysis, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was tested using the degradation of 4-nitrophenol under UV light as model reaction. The ZnO/SnO 2 molar ratio was varied in order to study its influence on the photoefficiency of the samples. The ZnO–SnO 2 nanocomposites showed higher photoactivity than the pure oxides and in particular the sample with ZnO/SnO 2 mol…
Effect of Urea–Hydrogen Peroxide Content on the Photocatalytic Activity of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles
ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using zinc acetate dihydrate, ethanol, and oxalic acid as precursor, solvent, and complexing agent, respectively, and urea–hydrogen peroxide (UHP) as, simultaneously, nitrogen precursor and oxygen donor. The structural, morphological, textural, and optical properties of ZnO photocatalysts were investigated using different characterization methods such as XRD, SEM, BET, and UV-Vis-DRS. The XRD patterns showed that the products consisted of ZnO and revealed the presence of nitrogen. SEM images revealed the agglomeration and aggregation of NPs. The photocatalytic activity of ZnO samples was estimated based on the photo-oxidation of 2-propanol under UV i…
Photocatalytic activity of binary and ternary SnO2–ZnO–ZnWO4 nanocomposites
Binary and ternary SnO2-ZnO-ZnWO4 nanocomposites were prepared by a sol-gel route. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated through the decomposition of 4-nitrophenol and partial oxidation of 4-methoxybenzyl alcohol to p-anisaldehyde. All the mixed catalysts revealed higher photoactivity than bare ZnO, SnO2 or ZnWO4 and the best performances were exhibited by the binary nanocomposites. The high photocatalytic activity was explained by the presence of heterojunctions among different semiconductors that enhance the separation of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs, hindering their recombination. As a general consideration, an essential role was played by the electronic feat…
Characterization and photoactivity of coupled ZnO-ZnWO4 catalysts prepared by a sol-gel method
Abstract ZnO–ZnWO4 nanocomposites were synthesized by a novel sol–gel method and characterized through X-ray diffraction, BET specific surface area analysis, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated using the degradation of 4-nitrophenol under UV light as probe reaction. The ZnO/ZnWO4 molar ratio was varied in order to study its influence on the photoefficiency of the mixed samples. The ZnO–ZnWO4 nanocomposites showed higher photoactivity than ZnO and ZnWO4. The high efficiency of the mixed samples was explained by the coupling and the intimate contact of two different…