Highly efficient photocatalytic performance of dye-sensitized K-doped ZnO nanotapers synthesized by a facile one-step el
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Highly efficient photocatalytic performance of dye-sensitized K-doped ZnO nanotapers synthesized by a facile one-step electrochemical method for quantitative hydrogen generation Jalal Rouhi 1 & Saeid Kakooei 2 & Seyed Mohsen Sadeghzadeh 3 & Omid Rouhi 4 & Rohollah Karimzadeh 1 Received: 26 February 2020 / Revised: 29 May 2020 / Accepted: 1 June 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract The different morphologies of K-doped ZnO nanostructures were successfully synthesized by a facile one-step electrochemical method using control of the current density. Field emission electron microscope images showed various morphologies and aspect ratios due to change in the value of applied current densities. Photoluminescence and UV-visible spectrometers showed that change in current densities leads in different level of defects and band gap shifting. The photocurrent responses reveal that the photocurrent intensity increases as K-doped ZnO surface morphology tends to taper on the application of 0.5 mA cm−2 current density. The maximum degradation rate of methylene blue was attained to be 99.3% within the 60 min using K-doped ZnO nanotapers which was much higher than the values found in previous studies. The highest photocatalytic H2 evolution activities were obtained in the applied current density of 0.5 mA cm−2 in comparison to other samples. These results indicate that doping and controllable morphology are effective and facile methods to improve the photocatalytic features of ZnO by boosting the absorption of light. Keywords K-doped ZnO nanotapers . Photocatalytic H2 evolution activities . Electrochemical method . Optical properties
Introduction In light of significant issues like energy shortage, global warming, and environmental pollution, it has become very difficult to ignore the presence of photocatalysts that are being developed and applied to decompose or convert pollutants into organic fuels and hydrogen generation [1, 2]. Hydrogen generation by photocatalysis is recognized as an upcoming, cost-effective, and least complicated method to convert solar
* Jalal Rouhi [email protected] 1
Department of Physics, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, Tehran 19839, Iran
2
Centre for Corrosion Research, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 31750 Tronoh, Malaysia
3
Department of Chemistry, Payame Noor University, P.O. Box 97175-615, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran
4
Department of Chemistry, Qaemshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr, Iran
power to chemical energy, due to the advantages of H2 like eco-friendliness and high energy density, making it the ideal futuristic energy carriers [3, 4]. In particular, one-dimensional nanostructures of semiconductors have gained much interest as they have high potentials for reduction and oxidation along with large surface areas for chemical reactions [5, 6]. ZnO has extremely good properties like high electronic conductance and non-toxicity, because of which it has been widely used as a phot
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