Synthesis and photocatalytic characterization of porous Cu-doped ZnO nanorods

Abstract

A two-step method was developed for the selective synthesis of porous ZnO nanorods (undoped and Cu doped): first, Zn[C6H4(COO)2]·H2O and Cu doped Zn[C6H4(COO)2]·H2O nanorods were synthesized via the hydrothermal reaction of Zn(NO3)2·6H2O, NaOH, KHC8H4O4, and Cu(NO3)2·3H2O at 120 °C for 6 h; second, porous undoped and doped ZnO nanorods were obtained by thermal decomposition of the precursors in air at 500 °C for 2 h, respectively. The porous ZnO nanorods were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) aqueous solution shows that the porous Cu-doped ZnO nanorods have the highest photodegradation performance with visible light and acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) gas degradation. These results are because of the special interface structures of the catalysts and fast separation of its photogenerated charge carriers. These favorable photocatalytic properties of the doped microstructures demonstrate their potential for degradation of wastewater and aldehydes.