Issue 12, 2022

Facile synthesis of ZnMoO4/AlPO4-5 nanorod composites as visible-light-driven photocatalysts and high-performance energy storage materials

Abstract

The present article describes the facile one-step hydrothermal synthesis of single-crystalline ZnMoO4/AlPO4-5 nanorod composites. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized materials, such as structure, morphology, and bandgap, were determined using techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, X-ray photoelectron (XPS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), and photoluminescence (PL). The XRD pattern of synthesized ZnMoO4/AlPO4-5 verifies the synthesis of nanocomposites. Diffuse UV-vis spectra reveal that ZnMoO4/AlPO4-5 nanorod composites exhibit an indirect semiconductor with an optical bandgap between 3.15 and 3.7 eV depending on Mo : Zn ratio. In comparison to pure AlPO4-5, ZnMoO4/AlPO4-5 nanocrystal composites showed significantly higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of para-nitrophenol (PNP, 0.04 g l−1), with 14, 99, 70, and 54% for AlPO4-5, Mo : Zn (2)/AlPO4-5, Mo : Zn (4)/AlPO4-5, and Mo : Zn (6)/AlPO4-5, respectively. This result might be attributed to the composite's efficient charge transfer and optimized electron–hole pair recombination. The supercapacitive ability of ZnMoO4/AlPO4-5 nanorod composites was also investigated in this work. For the prepared electrodes using AlPO4-5, Mo : Zn (2)/AlPO4-5, Mo : Zn (4)/AlPO4-5, and Mo : Zn (6)/AlPO4-5, the capacitance values were 400, 725, 450, and 481.25 F g−1, respectively, at a current density of 0.5 A g−1. This study shows that ZnMoO4/AlPO4-5 nanorod composites are a potential visible-light-responsive photocatalyst. The electrochemical results further demonstrate the high capacitance of ZnMoO4/AlPO4-5 nanorod composites toward energy-storage applications.

Graphical abstract: Facile synthesis of ZnMoO4/AlPO4-5 nanorod composites as visible-light-driven photocatalysts and high-performance energy storage materials

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 jan 2022
Accepted
21 feb 2022
First published
02 mar 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2022,12, 7120-7132

Facile synthesis of ZnMoO4/AlPO4-5 nanorod composites as visible-light-driven photocatalysts and high-performance energy storage materials

D. Aman, S. Abdel-Azim, S. Said and S. G. Mohamed, RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 7120 DOI: 10.1039/D2RA00268J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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