Photoelectrocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue using Spray Deposited Zno Thin Films under UV Illumination

Abstract

ZnO thin films have been deposited onto glass and FTO coated glass substrates using spray pyrolysis method. The structural, morphological, compositional and photocatalytic properties of ZnO thin films are studied. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) study shows that, both short circuit current (Isc) and open circuit voltage (Voc) are (Isc = 0.575 mA and Voc = 0.425 V) relatively higher at 450°C substrate temperature. The structure and morphological properties of ZnO thin films are studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). XRD study reveals that the films are polycrystalline in nature with hexagonal crystal structure. FE-SEM images show that the substrate surface is well covered with a uniform and ball like morphology. Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye in aqueous solutions is studied. The end result shows that the degradation percentage of methylene blue using ZnO photoelectrode has reached 95% under ultraviolet light illumination after 60 min.