Zinc oxide (ZnO) has received a lot of attention in recent years; it has attractive electronic properties, it is relatively inexpensive, it is easy to prepare, and it is an environmentally friendly alternative to other semiconductors. The purpose of this research was to prepare and characterize ZnO nanoparticles to determine how size, shape, and method of preparation influences its reactivity and the effects caused by exposures to ZnO nanoparticles. Zinc oxide was synthesized by a sol-gel method, using aqueous solutions of zinc acetate and various amines, and precipitated with the addition of NaOH at 65˚C and 95˚C. Zinc oxide nanomaterials were also synthesized using aqueous solutions of ZnCl2, ZnSO4 and Zn(NO3)2 without amines by the sol-gel method. The photochemical reactivity of the different materials was evaluated by using them to photochemically degrade the organic dye malachite green oxalate in aqueous solutions under UVA irradiation. In general, it was found that for a given morphology, smaller particles yielded faster decomposition rates than larger particles. Particle size was controlled by temperature of the sol-gel reaction and rate of NaOH addition. Additionally, morphologies with a high surface area-to-volume ratio, such as rod or needle shaped crystals, also appear to increase the photocatalytic effectiveness.

Effect of ZnO morphology on the photodegradation of malachite green oxalate

249th National Meeting (2015)

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