Schematic representation of the photocatalytic degradation of MB dye using the SnO2 nanocatalyst.

Rani C

Department of Electrical Engineering

School of Electrical Engineering

Vellore Campus

Punniyakoti S

Sahu N.K.

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is a private university located in&nbsp;Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1984, as Vellore Engineering College, the institution offers 20 undergraduate, 34 postgraduate, four integrated and four research programs. It has campuses in Vellore, Amravati, Bhopal and Chennai.

VIT is one of the top ranked private universities in India according to NIRF, THE and QS Rankings.&nbsp;Govt. of India has recognized&nbsp;VIT, Vellore as an&nbsp;Institution of Eminence. This has allowed VIT to take independent quality initiatives and move up in world ranking.

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VIT University

New Journal of Chemistry

Semiconductor photocatalysts are one of the major sought area of research due to their extensive use in the degradation of organic pollutants under UV–visible and solar light. Herein, we are reporting the synthesis of microscopic spindle shaped ZnO photocatalysts with different reducing agents such as sodium hydroxide, hydrazine hydride, sodium borohydride and lithium triethyl borohydride. These spindle shaped ZnO are synthesized by facile soft chemical approach by varying reducing agents with fixed molar ratio at 1:2 zinc precursor to reducing agents. These ZnOs were thoroughly characterised by various sophisticated characterization techniques such as XRD, FTIR, SEM, and HRTEM, Raman and ESR spectroscopies. Microscopic results show that these ZnO show similar fusiform morphologies with the variation in sizes and their distributions, and hence possess different defect related properties. The structural growth mechanism and defect related properties were explained on the basis of different reducing abilities of reducing agents (different reaction pH) and their nucleation with the aid of morphological analysis, and ESR analysis. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of these spindle shaped ZnO were evaluated against two cationic dyes (methylene blue dyes, Rhodamine B) under UV light. The photocatalytic results show that these spindle shaped ZnO are very effective for the photo-catalytic degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine B dye under the illumination of UV light. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Fulltext

SN Applied Sciences

Effect of induced defects on the properties of ZnO nanocrystals: surfactant role and spectroscopic analysis

Magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NPs) with various morphologies obtained by varying solvent (water)-to-surfactant (polyethylene glycol, PEG) ratios have been investigated for magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) application. The water-to-PEG ratio influenced the size, shape, and chemical composition of the NPs, which changes their magnetic properties and hyperthermia (HPT) response. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies reveal the formation of well crystalline inverse spinel structure of Fe3O4 with some Fe0 phases. Morphology of the NPs varies from nearly spherical to elongated to pseudohexagonal to cluster with an increased concentration of PEG. The NPs possess enhanced saturation magnetization ranging from 90 to 98&nbsp;emu/g. The HPT studies indicated that the NPs show an enough specific absorption rate (SAR) under alternating magnetic field suitable for biological application with hexagonal Fe3O4 being more efficient. © 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism

Water-to-PEG Variation: Morphology and Hyperthermic Behaviour of Iron Oxide

Journal of Alloys and Compounds

A comparative study on the supercapacitive behaviour of solvothermally prepared metal ferrite (MFe2O4, M = Fe, Co, Ni, Mn, Cu, Zn) nanoassemblies

ZnO nanostructures with divergent morphologies were synthesized by a facile chemical approach using various solvents and reducing agents. The synthesized nanostructures were characterized by XRD, electron microscopic techniques and fluorescence spectroscopy. The microstructural analysis shows that different morphologies of ZnO can be formed when suitable reducing agents (RAs) and solvents are used with variation in the molar ratio (β) of zinc precursor to RAs. The morphologies observed are spindles, flowers, nanoassemblies, rods and hexagonal hollow tubes. The size of spindle-shaped ZnO nanostructures varies from 1 to 5 μm, and nanoassemblies are of around 150 ± 20 nm. Each nanoassembly is the aggregation of individual nanoparticles of sizes around 4–5 nm. The optical study shows that these ZnO nanostructures have various defect concentrations and surface properties. Furthermore, the alterations and transformations in the physical and chemical properties of ZnO nanostructures significantly influenced the photo-catalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under solar irradiation. A complete degradation of MB is observed within 130 and 60 min when treated with ZnO of suitable morphology under UV and solar light radiation. This variation in time may be attributed to the availability of higher specific surface area, large amount of defects and anisotropy in morphology. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Journal of Materials Science

Investigating the role of different reducing agents, molar ratios, and synthesis medium over the formation of ZnO nanostructures and their photo-catalytic activity

Advanced Electronic Materials

10.1002/aelm.v4.12

Applied Water Science

Parameters affecting the photocatalytic degradation of dyes using TiO2: a review

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

Defect Evolution of Nonstoichiometric ZnO Quantum Dots

Materials Research Bulletin

Photocatalytic activity of SnO2 nanoparticles in methylene blue degradation

Polyol asserted hydrothermal synthesis of SnO2 nanoparticles for the fast adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue cationic dye

Journal	Data powered by TypesetNew Journal of Chemistry
Publisher	Data powered by TypesetRoyal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
ISSN	1144-0546
Open Access	0