Abstract
We report the photocatalytic properties of ZnO and Cu2O thin films deposited on glass substrates at room temperature by DC sputtering and pulsed laser deposition. The photoactivity of the films was investigated through the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO) under solar light. In order to select the most suitable film of ZnO for the of RhB and MO degradation, the relationship between the characteristics (e.g. energy levels and defects concentration) of ZnO films and their effectiveness in the photocatalytic yield of RhB and MO been studied, where several films were deposited by using different oxygen partial pressures (PO2: 0.05–1.3 mbar), while Cu2O films were grown under a pressure of 0.01 mbar. The XRD patterns show that all ZnO films have (002) preferential orientation, and crystallite size increases from 73 to 122 nm raising PO2. The gap Eg of ZnO (3.26 and 4.15 eV) depends on PO2, and the films present photoluminescence emission in the UV–Vis-near IR region. On the basis of structural, optical and electrical characterizations of both films, a comparative study was carried out on the dyes degradation. Cu2O films exhibit a high photoactivity with MO (81.69%) under solar light (6 h), whilst for RhB the best elimination rate (60.85%) was achieved with ZnO films deposited at 0.1 mbar, which were also the ones exhibiting the highest PL peak intensity at the characteristic absorption wavelength of RhB (553 nm).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Lee KM, Lai CW, Ngai KS, Juan JC (2016) Recent developments of zinc oxide based photocatalyst in water treatment technology: a review. Water Res 88:428–448
Ong CB, Ng LY, Mohammad AW (2018) A review of ZnO nanoparticles as solar photocatalysts: synthesis, mechanisms and applications. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 81:536–551
Ali W, Ullah H, Zada A, Alamgir MK, Muhammad W, Ahmad MJ, Nadhman A (2018) Effect of calcination temperature on the photoactivities of ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposites for the degradation of methyl orange. Mater Chem Phys 213:259–266
Naciri Y, Ait Ahsaine H, Chennah A, Amedlous A, Taoufyq A, Bakiz B, Ezahri M, Villain S, Benlhachemi A (2018) Facile synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic performance of Zn3(PO4)2 platelets toward photodegradation of Rhodamine B dye. J Environ Chem Eng 6:1840–1847
Znad H, Abbas K, Hena S, Awual MdR (2018) Synthesis a novel multilamellarmesoporous TiO2/ZSM-5 for photo-catalytic degradation of methyl orange dye in aqueous media. J Environ Chem Eng 6:218–227
Threrujirapapong T, Khanitchaidecha W, Nakaruk A (2017) Treatment of high organic carbon industrial wastewater using photocatalysis process. Environ Nanotechnol Monit Manag 8:163–168
Ajmal A, Majeed I, Malik RN, Idriss H, Amtiaz Nadeem M (2014) Principles and mechanisms of photocatalytic dye degradation on TiO2 based photocatalysts: a comparative overview. RSC Adv 4:37003–37026
Di Mauro A, Fragalà ME, Privitera V, Impellizzeri G (2017) ZnO for application in photocatalysis: from thin films to nanostructures. Mater Sci Semicond Process 69:44–51
Nguyen CH, Fu C-C, Juang R-S (2018) Degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange by palladiumdoped TiO2 photocatalysis for water reuse: Efficiency and degradation pathways. J Clean Prod 202:413–427
Kabouche S, Bellal B, Louafi Y, Trari M (2017) Synthesis and semiconducting properties of tin(II) sulfide: application to photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B under sun light. Mater Chem Phys 195:229–235
Belaissa Y, Nibou D, Assadi AA, Bellal B, Trari M (2016) A new hetero-junction p-CuO/n-ZnO for the removal of amoxicillin by photocatalysis under solar irradiation. J. Taiwan Inst Chem Eng 68:254–265
Mosca M, Macaluso R, Caruso F, Lo Muzzo V, Calì C (2015) The p-type doping of ZnO: Mirage or reality? In: Persano Adorno D, Pokutnyi S (eds) Advances in semiconductor research: physics of nanosystems, spintronics and technological applications. Nova Science Publishers Inc., New York, pp 245–282
Mosca M, Macaluso R, Calì C, Butté R, Nicolay S, Feltin E, Martin D, Grandjean N (2013) Optical, structural, and morphological characterisation of epitaxial ZnO films grown by pulsed-laser deposition. Thin Solid Films 53:55–59
Boughelout A, Zebbar N, Macaluso R, Zohour Z, Bensouilah A, Zaffora A, Aida MS, Kechouane M, Trari M (2018) Rhodamine (B) photocatalysis under solar light on high crystalline ZnO films grown by home-made DC sputtering. Optik—Inter. J Light and Electron Optics 174:77–85
Zhang Y, Deng B, Zhang T, Gao D, Xu A-W (2010) Shape effects of Cu2O polyhedral microcrystals on photocatalytic activity. J Phys Chem C 114:5073–5079
Niu ZG (2014) Reduced graphene oxide-cuprous hybrid nanopowders: hydrothermal synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation. Mater Sci Semicond Process 23:78–84
Zhang F, Dong G, Wang M, Zeng Y, Wang C (2018) Efficient removal of methyl orange using Cu2O as a dual function catalyst. Appl Surf Sci 444:559–568
Bergum K, Riise HN, Gorantla SM, Monakhov E, Svensson BG. Thin film Cu2O for solar cell applications. In: 2017 IEEE 44th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference PVSC. 2017. pp 2770–2773.
Wu I-C, Weng Y-H, Lu M-Y, Jen C-P, Fedorov VE, Chen WC, Wu MT, Kuo C-T, Wang H-C (2017) Nano-structure ZnO/Cu2O photoelectrochemical and self-powered biosensor for esophageal cancer cell detection. Opt Express 25:7689
Zhou T, Zang Z, Wei J, Zheng J, Hao J, Ling F, Tang X, Fang L, Zhou M (2018) Efficient charge carrier separation and excellent visible light photoresponse in Cu2O nanowires. Nano Energy 50:118–125
Boughelout A, Macaluso R, Crupi I, Megna B, Aida MS, Kechouane M (2019) Improved Cu2O/AZO heterojunction by inserting a thin ZnO interlayer grown by pulsed laser Deposition. J Electron Mater 48:438–4388
Suchea M, Christoulakis S, Moschovis K, Katsarakis N, Kiriakidis G (2006) ZnO transparent thin films for gas sensor applications. Thin Solid Films 515:551
Macaluso R, Mosca M, Calì C, Di Franco F, Santamaria M, Di Quarto F, Reverchon J-L (2013) Erroneous p-type assignment by Hall effect measurements in annealed ZnO films grown on InP. J Appl Phys 113:164508
Macaluso R, Mosca M, Costanza V, D’Angelo A, Lullo G, Caruso F, Calì C, Di Franco F, Santamaria M, Di Quarto F (2014) Resistive switching behaviour in ZnO and VO2memristors grown by pulsed laser deposition. Electron Lett 50:262–263
Sacco A, Di Bella MS, Gerosa M, Chiodoni A, Bianco S, Mosca M, Macaluso R, Calì C, Pirri CF (2015) Enhancement of photoconversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells exploiting pulsed laser deposited niobium pentoxide blocking layers. Thin Solid Films 574:38–42
Liu X, Xu M, Zhang X, Wang W, Feng X, Song A (2018) Pulsed-laser-deposited, single-crystalline Cu2O films with low resistivity achieved through manipulating the oxygen pressure. Appl Surf Sci 435:305–311
Akir S, Hamdi A, Addad A, Coffinier Y, Boukherroub R, Omrani AD (2017) Facile synthesis of carbon-ZnO nanocomposite with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance. Appl Surf Sci 400:461–470
Baradaran M, Ghodsi FE, Bittencourt C, Llobet E (2019) The role of Al concentration on improving the photocatalytic performance of nanostructured ZnO/ZnO:Al/ZnO multilayer thin films. J Alloys Compds 788:289–301
Kaur G, Mitra A, Yadav KL (2015) Influence of oxygen pressure on the growth and physicalproperties of pulsed laser deposited Cu2O thin films. J Mater Sci Mater Electron 26:9689–9699
Bindu P, Thomas S (2014) Estimation of lattice strain in ZnO nanoparticles: X-ray peak profile analysis. J Theor Appl Phys 8:123–134
Cullity BD, Rstock S (2001) Elements of X-ray diffraction. Prentice Hall, New Jersey
Tauc J (1972) Optical properties of solids. North Holland, Abeles
Lahmar H, Azizi A, Schmerber G, Dinia A (2016) Effect of the thickness of the ZnO buffer layer on the properties of electrodeposited p-Cu2O/n-ZnO/n-AZO heterojunctions. RSC Adv 73:68663
Patwari G, Bodo BJ, Singha R, Kailita PK (2013) Photoluminescence studies of H2O2 treated chemically synthesized ZnO nanostructures. Res J Chem Sci 3(2013):45–50
Kayanuma Y (1988) Quantum size effects of interacting electrons and holes in semiconductor microcrystals with spherical shape. Phys Rev B 38:9797–9805
Baral A, Khanuja M, Islam SS, Sharma R, Mehta BR (2017) Identification and origin of visible transitions in one dimensional (1D) ZnO nanostructures: excitation wavelength and morphology dependence study. J Lumin 183:383–390
Angulo-Rocha J, Velarde-Escobar O, Yee-Rendón C, Atondo-Rubio G, Millan-Almaraz R, Camarillo-García E, García-Hipólito M, Ramos-Brito F (2017) Morphological, structural and optical properties of ZnO thin solid films conformed by nano leafs ormicron/submicron cauliflowers. J Lumin 185:306–315
Zhaoa W, Wanga K, Li H, Yang Z, Liu Z, Sun J, Wang D, Liu S (2018) Stoichiometry control of sputtered zinc oxide films by adjusting Ar/O2 gas ratios as electron transport layers for efficient planar perovskite solar cells. Sol Energ Mater Solar Cells 178:200–207
Osipov A, Kukushkin SA, Feoktistov NA, Osipova A, Venugopal N, Verma GD, Kumar Gupta B, Mitra A (2012) Structural and optical properties of high quality ZnO thin film on Si with SiC buffer layer. Thin Solid Films 520:6836–6840
Ji X, Song J, Wu T, Tian Y, Han B, Liu X, Wang H, Gui Y, Ding Y, Wang Y (2019) Fabrication of high-performance F and Al co-doped ZnO transparent conductive films for use in perovskite solar cells. Sol Energ Mater Solar Cells 190:6–11
Coman T, Timpu D, Nica V, Vitelaru C, Rambu AP, Stoian G, Olaru M, Ursu C (2017) Sequential PLD in oxygen/argon gas mixture of Al-doped ZnO thin films with improved electrical and optical properties. Appl Surf Sci 418:456–462
Vidya R, Ravindran P, Fjellvåg H, Svensson BG, Monakhov E, Ganchenkova M, Nieminen RM (2011) Energetics of intrinsic defects and their complexes in ZnO investigated by density functional calculations. Phys Rev B 83:045206
Félix-Quintero H, Angulo-Rocha J, Murrieta SH, Hernández AJ, Camarillo GE, Flores JMC, Alejo-Armenta C, García-Hipolito M, Ramos-Brito F (2017) Study on grow process and optical properties of ZnO microrods synthesized by hydrothermal method. J Lumin 182:107–113
Soares AF, Tatumi SH, Mazzo TM, Rocca RR, Courrol LC (2017) Study of morphological and luminescent properties (TL and OSL) of ZnO nanocrystals synthetized by coprecipitation method. J Lumin 186:135–143
Mariappan R, Ponnuswamy V, Suresh P (2012) Effect of doping concentration on the structural and optical properties of pure and tin doped zinc oxide thin films by nebulizer spray pyrolysis (NSP) technique. Superlattices Microstruct 52:500–513
Ahn CH, Kim YY, Kim DC, Mohanta SK, Cho HK (2009) A comparative analysis of deep level emission in ZnO layers deposited by various methods. J Appl Phys 105:013502
Dai Y, Zhang Y, Li QK, Nan CW (2002) Synthesis and optical properties of tetrapod-like zinc oxide nanorods. Chem Phys Lett 358:83
Khranovskyy V, Lazorenko V, Lashkarev G, Yakimova R (2012) Luminescence anisotropy of ZnO microrods. J Lumin 132(10):2643
Vanheusden K, Seager CH, Warren WL, Tallant DR, Voigt JA (1996) Correlation between photoluminescence and oxygen vacancies in ZnO phosphors. J Appl Phys 68:403–405
Leiter FH, Alves HR, Hofstaetter A, Hofmann DM, Meyer BK (2001) The oxygen vacancy as the origin of a green emission in undoped ZnO. Phys Status Solidi B 226:4–5
Marin O, Tirado M, Budini N, Mosquera E, Figueroa C, Comedi D (2016) Photoluminescence from c-axis oriented ZnO films synthesized by sol- gel with diethanolamine as chelating agent. Mater Sci Semicond Process 56:59–65
Xu CX, Sun XW, Zhang XH, Ke L, Chua SJ (2004) Photoluminescent properties of copper-doped zinc oxide nanowires. Nanotechnology 15:856
Willander M, Nur O, Sadaf JR, Qadir MI, Zaman S, Zainelabdin A, Bano N, Hussain I (2021) Luminescence from Zinc Oxide nanostructures and polymers and their hybrid devices. Materials 3:2643
Lin B, Fu Z, Jia Y (2001) Green luminescent center in undoped zinc oxide films deposited on silicon substrates. Appl Phys Lett 79:943
Hasabeldaim E, Ntwaeaborwa OM, Kroon RE, Coetsee E, Swart HC (2017) Effect of substrate temperature and post annealing temperature on ZnO: Zn PLD thin film properties. Optical Mater 74:1–11
Wang J-C, Lou H-H, Xu Z-H, Cui C-X, Li Z-J, Jiang K, Zhang Y-P, Qu L-B, Shi W (2018) Natural sunlight driven highly efficient photocatalysis for simultaneous degradation of Rhodamine B and methyl orange using I/C codoped TiO2photocatalyst. J Hazard Mater 360:356–363
Sheikh MS, Sakhya AP, Maity R, Dutta A, Sinha TP (2019) Narrow band gap and optical anisotropy in double perovskite oxide Sm2NiMnO6: A new promising solar cell absorber. Sol Energy Mater Solar Cells 193:206–213
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Prof. M. Santamaria (Dipartimento di Ingegneria, UniversitàdegliStudi di Palermo) for the use of the XRD system.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Boughelout, A., Macaluso, R., Kechouane, M. et al. Photocatalysis of rhodamine B and methyl orange degradation under solar light on ZnO and Cu2O thin films. Reac Kinet Mech Cat 129, 1115–1130 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11144-020-01741-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11144-020-01741-8