Issue 3, 2015

Synthesis of nitrogen-doped ZnO by sol–gel method: characterization and its application on visible photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-D and picloram herbicides

Abstract

In this work, nitrogen-doped ZnO material was synthesized by the sol–gel method using zinc acetate as the precursor and urea as the nitrogen source (15, 20, 25 and 30% wt.). For comparative purposes, bare ZnO was also prepared. The influence of N doping on structural, morphological, optical and photocatalytic properties was investigated. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM-EDS, diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy, BET and XPS analysis. The photocatalytic activity of N-doped ZnO catalysts was evaluated during the degradation of a mixture of herbicides (2,4-D and picloram) under visible radiation ≥400 nm. The photo-absorption wavelength range of the N-doped ZnO samples was shifted to longer wavelength compared to those of the unmodified ZnO. Among different amounts of dopant agent, the 30% N-doped ZnO material showed higher visible-light activity compared with pure ZnO. Several degradation by-products were identified by using HPLC and ESI-MS/MS. The enhancement of visible photocatalytic activity of the N-doped ZnO semiconductor could be mainly due to their capability in reducing the electron–hole pair recombination.

Graphical abstract: Synthesis of nitrogen-doped ZnO by sol–gel method: characterization and its application on visible photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-D and picloram herbicides

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Jul 2014
Accepted
09 Oct 2014
First published
10 Oct 2014

Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2015,14, 536-542

Synthesis of nitrogen-doped ZnO by sol–gel method: characterization and its application on visible photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-D and picloram herbicides

J. J. Macías-Sánchez, L. Hinojosa-Reyes, A. Caballero-Quintero, W. de la Cruz, E. Ruiz-Ruiz, A. Hernández-Ramírez and J. L. Guzmán-Mar, Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2015, 14, 536 DOI: 10.1039/C4PP00273C

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