Microwave assisted solution combustion synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles: Effect of different urea concentrations and their photocatalytic investigations

Abstract

Zinc oxide nano particles (nano ZnO) is a fascinating photocatalyst due to its ability to
absorb light in the Ultraviolet and Visible region. In the present study, by employing the microwave assisted solution combustion synthesis, 7 samples of nano ZnO (ZnO A - G) were synthesized by varying the fuel (urea) concentration. Zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO₃)₂.6H₂O was used as the metal precursor. As-synthesized Nano ZnO samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV absorbance study, Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Field emission scanning electron spectroscopy (FE-SEM). Photocatalytic degradation (PCD) efficiency of ZnO samples was investigated by the degradation of methyl orange under UV light (365 nm) irradiation. It was found that ZnO synthesized with higher concentrations of urea (ZnO F and G) exhibited good PCD efficiency compared to ZnO A-E synthesized with lesser Urea concentrations.