Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic properties of ZnO/(La,Sr)CoO3 composite nanorod arrays

Dunliang Jian; Pu-Xian Gao; Wenjie Cai; Bamidele S. Allimi; S. Pamir Alpay; Yong Ding; Zhong Lin Wang; Christopher Brooks

doi:10.1039/B817235H

Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic properties of ZnO/(La,Sr)CoO₃ composite nanorod arrays†

Dunliang Jian,^a Pu-Xian Gao,*^a Wenjie Cai,^a Bamidele S. Allimi,^a S. Pamir Alpay,^a Yong Ding,^b Zhong Lin Wang^b and Christopher Brooks^c

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemical, Materials and Biomolecular Engineering & Institute of Materials Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
E-mail: puxian.gao@ims.uconn.edu
Fax: +18604864745
Tel: +18604869213

^b School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

^c Honda Research Institute, 1381 Kinnear Road, Suite 116, Columbus, OH, USA

Abstract

ZnO/(La, Sr) CoO₃ (ZnO/LSCO) core-shell composite nanorod arrays have been successfully synthesized by a sequential combination process of a hydrothermal synthesis followed by a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) process (or a colloidal deposition process). Compared to the colloidal deposition process, PLD produces a more uniform and efficient deposition of continuous and mesoporous LSCO thin films onto ZnO nanorod arrays. During the PLD process, the deposited film uniformity was found to be dependent on the nanorod diameter, array density, and thus specific surface area of the nanorod arrays, in addition to the PLD deposition parameters. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to investigate the surface morphologies and orientations of the composite nanorod arrays. With densely packed ZnO nanorod arrays as a unique support structure, the mesoporous LSCO thin film coated on top exhibited better photocatalytic properties than ZnO nanorod arrays and LSCO thin films deposited on flat Si substrates. With optimization of the structure, dimensionality, packing density, as well as the composition and interface structure, these unique composite nanoarchitectures could be a promising class of photocatalyst candidates for organic molecule degradation.

This article is part of the themed collection: Inorganic nanotubes and nanowires

Article information

https://doi.org/10.1039/B817235H

Article type

Paper

Submitted

06 Oct 2008

Accepted

19 Nov 2008

First published

08 Jan 2009

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J. Mater. Chem., 2009,19, 970-975

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Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic properties of ZnO/(La,Sr)CoO₃ composite nanorod arrays

D. Jian, P. Gao, W. Cai, B. S. Allimi, S. Pamir Alpay, Y. Ding, Z. L. Wang and C. Brooks, J. Mater. Chem., 2009, 19, 970 DOI: 10.1039/B817235H

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Journal of Materials Chemistry